In Secret
by Gajeelswoman
Summary: The continuation of Behind the Scenes. No one cares to have Gajeel around the guild, so training the brats without the Fairies finding out would be a piece of cake, right? He could handle it all himself, different magics, how to become a legitimate mage... how to read and write... how hard could it be? Fairy Tail characters and the universe they live in belong to Hiro Mashima.
1. Beginning Lessons

It was harder to be sneaky, wearing all those bright white bandages. Master had that healer friend who could come help us, but she hates humans. She was not very fond of me, to put it lightly, after all of the trouble I had caused. I really couldn't blame her. But, it made it harder to get to the orphans without being seen. I'd only been back once since starting on this "job." It was also hard for me to train the little bastards in my current state, so I decided to work on their language skills, teaching them to read and write.

When I thumped on the door, Sam threw it open with a squeal. She jumped at me, throwing her arms around my stomach. "Oof! Hey, kid! What'd I tell ya 'bout doin' that?!" Little brat almost knocked me on my ass. She let go and jumped backwards, flushing in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Gajeel! Yer hurt!" She threw her hands over her face, then bowed a little before running into the shadows of the orphans' home. I sighed and followed her in, looking around to make sure no one had been watching. I hadn't heard or smelled anyone.

The building was an old warehouse that hadn't been used in years. There was a huge main area, which would work really well for the magic lessons, though the lighting was terrible. Along one wall were several small rooms that had once been offices. The kids divided those amongst themselves as bedrooms, though there were still two or three sleeping in each room.

I thumped over to the chair they'd set aside as mine, and dropped into it heavily. _Man, I'm going to be glad to get back to normal._ I didn't think I'd ever take free movement for granted again. I pulled my bag off my back and rummaged around, digging out the books I'd stolen from that store. Had it really only been a week? I spread them out on the table as Ryos and a few others came into the main room. The black haired boy who looked like me didn't seem to like me very much. Every time he thought I wasn't looking, he'd fix a glare at me. _Is that what Dad used to say about a nasty look on my face? Heh._ I'd heard him call me "Black Steel" once or twice to the other littles, so maybe I'd done something to him or his family when I'd been with Phantom.

Fitz, the redheaded leader, started leafing through one of the books. Wonder and frustration crossed his face at the same time. I remembered that feeling. Dad had knocked me into a pile of books and told me I had to learn how to read so I could function as a normal human. _"Why the hell would I want to do that?" I'd growled at him. "Humans are weak and useless. They've got nothing on dragons!" Metalicana had leveled his sternest glare at me when I said that. "Never forget, my child. Though you are my son, you are still human! Don't ever let go of your humanity. And wipe that nasty look off your face!" He'd thumped me with a fisted hand when I tried to glare back at him._

"Gihi, yeah, that's a common reaction to books, kid." Fitz whipped his head up to glare at me, earning himself another laugh. I knew I shouldn't, but there was nothing scary about him at all. "Alright, gather everyone up, and we'll start this." The rest of the kids poured into the room at his call, and arranged themselves on the floor around my feet. _Here goes nothing._


	2. Encounter

_Damn. That was a waste of a day_. Those brats were harder to teach than I'd thought. It's not that they weren't trying, but I couldn't get them to understand how to read. To be honest, I probably wasn't the best teacher on that subject. Dad had taught me how, and I enjoyed reading, but I guess that didn't mean I could teach others.

I sat down on a low wall that ran around a park in the city, and rested my head in my hands. "I guess words ain't easy to learn." I muttered to myself. "U-um, Gajeel?" a small voice said from behind me. I turned to see a tiny bluenette sitting against a tree nearby. "Yeah Shrimp? Whatdya want?" She squeaked and blushed, putting her head down a little.

"I'm sorry, no- it's nothing. Never mind." She started piling up the books she had around her, and stood to leave. The stack was almost half her height, which isn't all that tall, really, but it was more books than she could comfortably manage. I sighed and flipped around on the wall, then walked over to take most of the books.

"Where're we going with this mess, Tiny?" I asked. Her face had taken on an interesting shade of red, and I chuckled, though I looked away to save her a little embarrassment at least. "I can carry my own books!" She stated with a little venom in her voice. Maybe some of that red had been anger? _Huh, that's a new one from her._ I raised an eyebrow at her and just waited.

"Fine!" she huffed. "You can carry those to Fairy Hills, just up the road this way." With the last words she turned, walking away. _Gihi, yeah, anger's new from her. It's kinda cute._ I realized I was grinning and quickly scowled before she saw. It was nice to not see fear in her eyes. I let myself drop a little behind her, though that was difficult since my legs are so much longer than hers. The view was worth it though.

 _*********************_  
"It's so nice today, I'm going to go read in the park!" I told Mira after I finished my breakfast, and walked out of the guildhall. Jet and Droy had left for a job earlier, and I hadn't felt like going. It was too pretty out to work today! I went to the library and borrowed several books that I'd been wanting to read. I took them to the closest park, and sat against a tree to read.

I heard people walking down the street nearby, but never looked up. I get like that when I'm reading. Jet whines about it sometimes, but Droy's always said he thinks it's funny.

I did become aware when someone sat on the wall near my tree. I looked up and saw Gajeel, and he seemed upset about something. He didn't scare me as much as he used to, after everything he did in the fight against Laxus. I felt my face flush as I remembered him putting himself between me and danger. Again. I was debating saying something to him when I heard him mutter, "I guess words ain't easy to learn." Was he trying to learn to read? But, he read job sheets, didn't he? "U-um, Gajeel?" I heard myself saying. He whipped around like he was startled, his piercing red eyes locking onto me. "Yeah Shrimp? Whatdya want?" I squeaked, and ducked my head down to hide the blush I felt returning to my cheeks.

"I'm sorry, no- it's nothing. Never mind." I started piling up my books to leave. _Was I really just going to offer to teach him?_ The stack seemed bigger than when I got here, and I struggled to get them all into my arms. Why do I feel so flustered? I heard Gajeel sigh, and then his muscular arms were in front of me, taking all but two of my books. _He's so strong, it's like my books weigh nothing!_ I know exactly how heavy they are, but to Gajeel they seemed to take as much effort to carry as a piece of paper.

"Where're we going with this mess, Tiny?" He asked me, one of his pierced eyebrows raised. _TINY?! I'm not THAT small!_ "I can carry my own books!" I snapped at him, although I managed to not stomp my foot. He just kept his eyebrow raised and looked at me.

"Fine!" I huffed. "You can carry those to Fairy Hills, just up the road this way." Before I'd finished speaking, I spun on my heel and started storming towards my home. He had seemed amused about something, but I didn't feel like finding it what. Somehow I stayed ahead of him, even though I usually have issues keeping up with people who are that much taller than me. _Maybe he's being nice?_

As we walked along, I took a few full steps to even out with the shrimp. Wouldn't want her to catch me admiring her...assets. I skimmed the titles of the pile of books I carried, being careful not to drop them. "That's quite the variety of books ya got here, Shrimp."

Her shoulders tensed when I called her that, but she didn't say anything about it, making me want to laugh. "Well, I'm interested in everything, so that's what I read about. Do you even read? I mean- that is- I mean-" she trailed off, muttering something about not trying to imply that I couldn't read. I stopped walking and looked at her for a minute, deciding if I was going to mess with her or not. "What, ya think I'm too dumb t' read? Screws-for-brains Gajeel?" Every word made her blush deepen. "No! I never said that! You just seem to be more of a physical type person!" She looked sharply at me as I started to laugh. "Oh man, Shrimp. You should see yer face. I'm just messin' with ya. Yer not the first person to think there's nothin goin' on upstairs."

That didn't seem to make her any happier, "How are you okay with that? I'd hate for people to think I was stupid." She slapped her hand over her mouth, thinking she'd insulted me again. I just threw my head back and laughed harder.

"No! I never said that! You just seem to be more of a physical type person!" Gajeel started to laugh, a deep rumbling sound. I looked up at him, surprised he didn't seem to be angry. "Oh man, Shrimp. You should see yer face. I'm just messin' with ya. Yer not the first person to think there's nothin goin' on upstairs." _No! That's not what I meant at all!_ I was so frustrated with myself. _Usually I'm so good with my words!_

"How are you okay with that? I'd hate for people to think I was stupid." I could have bitten out my tongue, I was so embarrassed! I'd done it again! To my surprise, Gajeel just laughed harder. There was a funny warm feeling settling into my chest at the sound. "Um, can we just start this conversation over again?" I looked at the books in his arms, unable to bring myself to meet those ruby eyes.

"Gihi," he choked off his laughter. "Sure, Tiny. So... That's quite the variety of books ya got here..." I could hear the laugh still hiding in his words. I huffed at the nickname, "Well, I'm interested in everything, so that's what I read about. What do you like to read?" That almost did him in again, and I heard a snort as he started to answer.

"I don't read..."

*******************  
 _Damn, she's adorable all flustered like that._ _Wait, what?_ The tiny bluenette was staring at me laughing at her, so I swallowed the chuckle that almost escaped as we repeated the beginning of our conversation. She rephrased her question about my reading habits, and it was so polite I just couldn't help it anymore. I did try. Kind of. I snorted out a laugh as I replied, "I don't read." The heat from her glare put me over the edge, and I started laughing again. She gave me up as a lost cause, and started stomping up the road again.

*******************  
I whirled around before he could see my grin, and started stomping up the road towards my home again. _He's teasing me! Who knew there was such a gentle side to Gajeel? I knew he wasn't as mean as he tries to act, but this is...unexpected._ Well, two can play that game. I didn't want to be completely evil so I wouldn't use tears as a weapon, but I was not without my tricks. I'd used them before to get my team to behave. They might work on Gajeel, too...


	3. Laughter

I whirled around before he could see my grin, and started stomping up the road towards my home again. _He's teasing me!_ Who knew there was such a gentle side to Gajeel? I knew he wasn't as mean as he tried to act, but this was...unexpected. _Well, two can play that game_. I didn't ever want to be completely evil, so I wouldn't use tears as a weapon, but I was not without my tricks. I'd used the before to get my team to behave. They might work on Gajeel too.

I made an effort to keep ahead of Gajeel as I stormed up the road. Before he could catch me, I schooled my features into an angry mask. Making Jet or Droy think I was angry always unnerved them, so they'd straighten up. Mostly, I had to do it to them so they'd stop flirting with me. _Honesty, why can't they understand that romance among teammates is a bad idea? Besides, I've known them so long they're like brothers to me!_ I shook that thought out of my head before I really WAS angry.

"Shrimp? Hey, wait a sec... Levy!" I stopped dead, surprise almost ruining my facade. Gajeel never called me by name..."What?!" I snapped at him, whirling around. He was closer than I'd thought, but that was probably just because he walks so much faster than me. His red eyes were searching my face, and he actually looked concerned. "Why the hell are ya so angry?" He asked.

I sighed. "I don't like being laughed at! I truly felt bad for implying that you can't read, and you threw it back in my face!" I heard myself getting a little hysterical. _Hmm, maybe I'm not faking as much as I thought?_ "I would never insult someone like that!" Gajeel kept looking at me, but I couldn't read his expression.

* * *

Levy looked like she was fighting back tears. But, she smelled like she was as surprised about that as I was. I finally dropped my eyes to the ground, "I'm sorry, Levy. I was just messin' with ya. I don't get to laugh like that often- I just didn't think- I'm real sor-" then it was my turn to be cut off by laughter. I snapped my head up to see the little woman covering her mouth with both hands, doubled over laughing. "Huh?!"

"Oh, Gajeel! You should see YOUR face! Careful, you're going to eat a bug if you don't close your mouth!" She pointed at me as she collapsed in peals of laughter. It was so musical, all I could do was stand there. I'd never heard her laugh before... The sound tickled my ears, and made me want to join her. "Gihi, yeah. Ya got me, Shrimp." I grinned down at the little woman, and then sat down on the ground next to her. I looked at the scenery around us to give her time to calm down. I grinned as her laughter subsided into giggles. _I could get used to hearing that sound,_ I thought to myself. I hardened my resolution to never let her be hurt again, and added to it a goal to make her laugh as much as possible.

"Well, ya wanna get these books back to yer house anytime today, Tiny?" I finally asked her. I looked over to see her glaring at me again. "What'd I do now?!"

"Why do you always call me names? I know you know what my name is, you said it a minute ago." She crossed her arms over her chest, her books sitting on her lap. "Oh! That? Gihi, cuz yer so small, that's why." She huffed and snatched her books as she stood up. "You're so mean! I'm not THAT short!" She ran towards her home. By this time we were almost there anyway. I chuckled one more time as I stood up, then bent to pick up the rest of her books.

When I got to Fairy Hills, she was nowhere to be seen. I opened the door and saw a small table just inside. I placed her books on it and walked out, closing the door behind me. It wasn't until I was almost to my home that I realized she might be able to help me with m-the. THE orphans.

* * *

 _ **A/N Just a short little chapter this week, next week's will be longer, I promise! Let me know what you think of the story so far?**_

 _ **As always, if you want something fantastic to read, check out Muddyevil! She's the bestest ever.**_


	4. Move

I got to my house, which was almost all the way across town from the guildhall, and went inside. I was a little jittery after laughing so much. I hadn't laughed like that in a long time. Since I was a child, actually. I couldn't sit still, so I decided to go to a bar around the corner. As I walked in, I realized they had a band playing live. They were singing the perfect song, too. "Hey-o here comes a danger up in this club, once we get started, Man we ain't gonna stop, gonna turn it up 'til it gets too hot."

 _Good. All the noise and people will dull my senses a bit, maybe I can relax._ Sometimes having enhanced sight and hearing was exhausting.

I ordered a beer, and found a dark corner where I could just sit and listen to the beat. I put my back against the wall so no one could sneak up on me, the downside of all the noise, and started people watching. You could learn a lot about a person by watching them when they don't know you're there. Not that I'd see anyone I knew. The Fairies stayed on the other side of town, in their own bar, mostly.

As I scanned the room, I thought I caught a flash of blue. _Wait, was that..?_ It had been about the right height, but surely she wasn't here too? I shifted in my seat a little, trying to see around the press of bodies. There was a break in the music, and some people left the dance floor to get drinks allowing me to see a little clearing in the middle. The music started up again, and I saw her. The lead singer was half whispering the lyrics to the song, and she started swaying. Suddenly, the singer yelled,

 **Move and show me what you can do**  
 **When you step into the circle and shake like we do**  
 **Move when you just can't take it**  
 **And move if you just feel like breaking it**

I actually enjoyed this song, and felt myself wanting to dance as well, but my attention was captured by the tiny bluenette. She was definitely moving; her jeans hugging right to hips that were rocking back and forth, her arms over her head. The movement pulled up her top, revealing a strip of skin. I wasn't the only one noticing either, but every time some asshole tried to dance with her, she spun herself away without missing a beat. She was amazing. Finally, I couldn't stop myself anymore. I slid off my chair and through the crowd. The intensity of my stare moved lesser people out of my way, and before I knew it I was near her. I saw her eyes widen as she saw me, but she still didn't miss a beat.

I danced then. Not exactly with her, but our bodies moved in sync. Before I was ready, the song was over. Her face was flushed, and she was breathing heavy, but the grin on her face was all I could see.

She grabbed my hand and dragged me off the dance floor as the next song began. A jolt of electricity went through my body, originating from the hand she gripped, and almost stopping me in my tracks. I finally came back to myself, and directed her towards my table. Regretting it immediately, I pulled my hand from hers, and walked to the bar to get her a drink. "Can I get a water?" I grabbed the glass when it was set on the bar, and headed through the press of people, grinning when I saw her at my table. "Here, Shrimp. Ya look hot." Her eyes widened, "Uh- I mean- ya look warm! Like yer overheated!" She was laughing again.

"Thank you, Gajeel. For the water." She was still smiling as she brought the glass to her mouth, "and the compliment..." She mumbled. I didn't know if she was aware of my hearing, so I didn't say anything about that last. I just rubbed the back of my neck and looked around the club, leveling glares at the fools who were still eyeing her. Once they saw me, they quickly looked away. "You're handy to have around! They never back down that easily!" She blushed a little as she told me that.

"So, ya come here often?" I looked away as I realized that sounded like a pickup line. "I mean, often 'nough that ya know how to deal with those morons, at least." She giggled again. "Um, yeah. I come here when I need to blow off some steam. No one from the guild comes here, so I can really let loose. Jet and Droy have never even been here." By now, she was looking a little self conscious. _Gihi, those idiots think_ _they love her, and don't even know this part of her._ A sudden thought came to me.

"Alright then, Shorty. I'll keep yer secret, but ya gotta do somethin' for me." She had looked up at me angrily at the nickname, but I saw a little fear in her eyes behind that. I finished quickly, "Nothin' major, I just need yer help with somethin'." The tiny mage still looked a little uncomfortable, but the fear faded a little.

"Okay, what's up?" She sounded like she was forcing the perkiness I heard. "Nothin' now. Meet me at the bookstore ya like over by the river." The fear was back as she looked at me sharply. "How do you know what bookstore I like?!" _Shit, I hate how easy I scare her._ "I, uh, I smelled ya there one time." This wasn't helping. She looked about ready to bolt. "Hang on, listen. I know that sounds weird. Just, wait. I'm a dragon slayer. Ya know we have an enhanced sense of smell, yeah? Ya must have just been there recently or somethin' cuz I smelled yer scent. Ya smell like books..." I trailed off, realizing I was rambling.

* * *

I felt my fear fading a little more as Gajeel rambled on. The big lug seemed really uncomfortable as he explained how he had smelled me. _Smelled me? Okay, that's still weird._ "So, I have a scent? And it's unique enough that you knew my book scent over the scent of the books. In the bookstore." He still looked uncomfortable, and I giggled a little.

"Okay. Fine. I'll do you this favor, and you'll keep my little secret here. And you'll explain this whole scent thing to me. Tomorrow. What time?" Surprise crossed his face, and relief, and I heard him let out a breath. I looked over his shoulder and saw the band coming back onto the stage. They'd been taking a bit of a break. I heard the opening chords to one of my favorite songs, and I inched towards the edge of my seat. I looked back at Gajeel to see him watching me, a small grin on his face. "After lunch? Say one? I'll meet ya there."

I smiled back at him. "Okay. I'll be there. Now... If you'll excuse me..." I jumped off my chair and ran back out on the floor.


	5. Morning

I got the feeling I had been dismissed. She hadn't invited me to join her, so she probably wanted some more time to herself. _Someday I'll dance with her again...wait, what?_ I shook my head. Where were these thoughts coming from? This shrimp was starting to get under my skin.

I saw a few guys on the dance floor leering at her again, but I also saw some of their buddies jabbing the idiots with their elbows, pointing in my direction. I fixed my darkest glare on them, and watched them back away from her. I got up, keeping my eyes on them, and moved to a different table. A minute later I saw her look back at the table I had been occupying, and was a little disappointed in the relief I saw in her expression. I stayed where I was, figuring she couldn't see me anymore, and watched her for the next few songs. She was mesmerizing.

* * *

I woke the next morning, groggy from not getting enough sleep. I'd stayed out really late watching the tiny woman dance, and then followed her home, to make sure she stayed safe. I scared off two creeps... And a little old lady who was putting her trash out. _Gihi_. That one still made me laugh. She had thrown her garbage at me.

I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes, and headed for my shower. After the water woke me up and I was clean, I got dressed and went towards the warehouse. I wanted to give the kids a heads up that someone was going to be coming with me. I don't really know for sure what made me decide to trust her with them, but I somehow knew she wouldn't bring them to any harm. I skulked around a corner and waited a minute, making sure no one was following me. I took a different path each time I visited the kids so no one would know where I was going. Maybe I was paranoid.

When I arrived at the door, I didn't really knock. I just opened the door, rapping my knuckles against it twice as I did, knowing the sound would echo to let them know I was here. "Gajeel!" I heard the chirp moments before I felt her collide with my back. I could have dodged her, but I kind of liked getting hugs from the little girl. Sam was one of the few people who wasn't ever afraid of me. It was like having a little sister.

"Hey, little bird, wanna start yer practice and pop around to get t'other bastards up?" I squeezed her arms gently before I pulled them off me. "Sure!" She said, before hopping a little and popping out of sight. _Man, that can be handy_. I thudded out into the main area, and waited for my students. They were starting to get used to me, though most weren't as comfortable as Sam. She popped into the room next to me as everyone else filtered in. I waited with my arms folded across my chest for them to settle down.

"Listen up, brats. I'm bringin' another wizard with me in a few hours." I stopped talking as noise erupted into the room. I let them yell for a minute, before I quelled them with a glare. "Shut yer yaps. I ain't done talkin'. Yer gonna obey every single thing she tells ya, or I'll drag yer asses down to the magic council and let them deal with ya." They didn't know me well enough yet to know that wasn't true. I had to establish dominance to make sure they listened to me long enough to learn better survival skills. "Now, I've made sure she won't tell no one about ya, and she'll only be comin' to teach ya words. And maybe figurin'. So, go rest or whatever ya do about now. We'll be back in two hours." With that, I spun on my heel and stomped to the door. I stopped just outside the door and listened to them. A few of the younger littles started freaking out, but Fitz got them calmed down and tried to explain that this was a good thing. It didn't take long for them to all go back to what they'd been doing before I got there.

I walked quietly away from the building. I tended to only make noise when I wanted to, and I usually only did that for effect. People expect a monster like me to make noise. It typically gets them out of my way, so I don't mind putting on the show. I looked at a clock nearby and saw that it was nearly noon. _Still have to wait an hour._ I sighed, and looked somewhere nearby to grab a snack. I didn't want to wait at the bookstore and seem too eager...

* * *

 _Man, my muscles are so sore!_ I didn't normally stay so long at the club when I go to blow off steam, but I had a surprisingly harassment free night so I never felt the need to leave. Even after Gajeel left, the creeps I normally had to avoid kept their distance. _Having him be so scary isn't always a bad thing._ I giggled to myself. Then I flushed as I remembered practically dancing with him last night. I had been so surprised when I saw Gajeel appear on the dance floor next to me. I'd seen the hurt in his eyes when I had been scared of him recently though, so I tried really hard not to let him see my fear.

"He really IS making an effort to be a better person, I think." I said to myself as I brushed my hair. I had barely had enough energy to shower last night when I got back to Fairy Hills, I definitely hadn't had energy to deal with my tangles. Besides, it was more wavy if I slept on it wet, and I liked it wavy. _I don't know what had possessed me to dance with him though._ He still scared me sometimes, if I was honest, although I somehow knew he wouldn't hurt me again. I barely knew anything about else him though.

"Well, that'll change in a little bit. He's going to tell me about his Dragon Slayer enhanced senses!" I had a notebook in my bag already, and I was excited to ask questions. I was pretty sure I could get more info out of him if I asked right. There weren't really a lot of specifics in my library on the changes a person undergoes when they learn magic from a dragon. I looked at my clock and saw that it was already ten thirty. _He already knows I frequent that bookstore. If I get there early, he should just think I'm there for the books, right? Hopefully he won't read too much into my eagerness to learn..._ I threw my bag's strap over my head, settling it across my chest as I ran out the door.


	6. Questions

As I neared the bookstore, the smell of paper and ink got pretty strong. I walked around the corner of a building and I could see it in front of me, the windows thrown open to catch a breeze. I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holding, relief flooding through me. There was a tiny bluenette sitting on a chair in front of the store, tea and the remains of a sandwich on the table in front of her. I guess being so small has its perks, she was folded into a normal cafe chair like it was a couch, her knees pulled up and the book propped against them. I had almost thought she wouldn't come.

I sat down in the chair opposite her, and snatched up her sandwich and threw it in my mouth. She didn't even flinch, so I leaned back in my chair and watched her. She was wearing tight black shorts and an orange tank top, although there were sleeves that were tied on about mid bicep and went to her wrists. Her hair was pulled back in a tail, her bangs escaped and hanging around her face. If I let myself be honest, she was pretty cute.

After several minutes of nothing but her turning pages, I decided to grab some more food, and left her alone again. As I came and sat back down with my own sandwich, I tilted my head to read the spine of the book. "Drag-" was all I could see over her legs. _Dragons? She's reading up on dragons?_ I glanced at her face to see her furrow her brow in concentration. "Gihi," I chuckled at how intensely focused she was, and apparently that was finally enough to catch her attention.

"Eep! Gajeel! Hi!" She squeaked and jumped, dropping the book in the process. I snatched it before it hit the ground, and held it out for her to mark her place. "Geez Shrimp, yer so focused. I've only been sittin' here for ten minutes, why ya jumpin' 'bout me bein' here now?"

Her eyes widened and she blushed, making me want to laugh again. _How does she do that so easily? I never laugh, and now it's all I want to do when she's around._ "I'm so sorry, Gajeel! Have you really been here for ten minutes?" She looked down and saw my food, and hers missing. "Did you finish my sandwich?" I felt a tiny bit of heat in my cheeks, "Uh, yeah. Ya want some of mine? I just did it to mess with ya, but ya didn't even notice. Dragons ain't all that fascinatin' really." She almost looked confused for a moment, and then her gaze fell to her book. "Oh! This! But, yes they are! Anyway, I'm sorry I ignored you. Jet and Droy used to whine about that all the time, but I guess they're used to it now."

"Who?" I raised an eyebrow at her. "Jet. And Droy. My friends? You know... The ones who... Umm." I cut her off before she had to finish that. Neither of the situations I'd know them from were very pleasant memories for her. "Oh. Fish-tail and the speedster? That's them? Huh, I guess I'd never really learned their names. Anyway, I'm glad yer here."

* * *

"Yeah! So, why _am_ I here, Gajeel? What exactly do you need? I know you know how to read, so you weren't talking about yourself when you said 'words ain't so easy to learn...'" I trailed off at the shock in his face. "I guess you didn't know I'd heard you say that, huh?"

"I hadn't realized I'd said anythin' out loud, Shrimp. That's all. But no, I wasn't talkin' about me... I can actually read quite well and use my extensive vocabulary fairly eloquently when I choose to do so." I could feel my jaw dropping at the last part of his answer. I snapped it shut as quick as possible so he wouldn't be offended, but he'd just started that wonderful deep laugh again. I felt a grin slowly spreading across my face. "Well, I guess I'll start then. You said you'd explain what you meant by you'd smelled me?" That shut him up, his mouth closing with an audible snap. I pulled my notebook out of my bag, and got ready to take notes.

* * *

 _Ah hell, I'd forgotten about that._ I watched the little bookworm pull out a notebook and pen, then look at me expectantly. "Alrigh', yeah." I took a huge bite of my sandwich to give myself time to figure out my answer. "So, everyone has a unique smell to them. It comes from a combination of things, really. Things in their life like their shampoo, body wash, maybe a pet, favorite perfume, or something they eat regularly. Wizards add in a scent from their magic." I paused to take another bite and let her catch up in her notes. She didn't really need it though. I was surprised how neat her handwriting was with the speed she wrote.

"Okay, for example. The Salamander smells like fish, that cat of his, and smoke. Yer pal fish-tail, he smells like plants and very faintly like books, but that's because of you. Sometimes people smell similar, from living together or being related, but there's always a unique element to a person's scent that makes it 'theirs.' My nose ain't as good as Flame-brain, but it ain't as dull as a normal human's either. For instance, I can't track someone by their scent, usually. I can just smell them if they've been somewhere for at least a few minutes recently, or if it's a regular place they go." I stuffed the last of my meal into my mouth and the shrimp stopped writing. She looked up me, a question in her eyes. I just raised a brow at her.

"One other thing. Emotions have scents too. I can't explain that, so don't ask, but the strongest ones are easily identifiable. Anger, fear, surprise, and well, a few others." I could feel the heat rising in my cheeks as I thought about a strong emotion I hadn't mentioned. I drank some of my water to cover it, but that was a bad idea, since she had decided to ask me her questions. "So... You said I smell like books, but what is the unique part of mine? Would you smell like metal? What other emotions? How are your other senses, compared to a normal person?"

I pounded my chest with a fist as I choked. I finally coughed enough to clear my throat. "Ahem. Um, I don't really know, entirely. Ya smell kind of, fruity. Like, maybe strawberries. An' of course the paper an' ink smell." I held up one finger. "I've never actually smelled m'self. But Metalicana smelled like iron an' dragon. Smelled like rust if he got wet, gihi. My eyesight is only a little better during the day, but I got pretty decent night vision. My hearing is very good." I was holding three fingers up now, having raised one as I answered each of the tiny woman's questions. I was hoping she wouldn't realize I'd skipped one. I almost groaned out loud as she opened her mouth again.

"What about the emotions?" She had such a curious expression on her face, I couldn't not answer. "Well, uh," I decided to just rush through, maybe she'd miss hearing it. "Arousal, happiness, excitement, sadness. Ya know. The basics." I looked away as I saw a blush creep into her cheeks. Maybe I could change the subject. "Uh, paired with my hearing, sometimes I can tell when someone's lying, too."

She looked up at that, the pink lingering on her face a little. "How's that work?" I thought for a minute, trying to figure out how best to explain. "Well, I can hear a heart rate pick up a bit, which it usually does when someone's lyin'. An' a person usually starts sweatin' a little when they're anxious about bein' caught in a lie. So, pairing the two things together, you can tell. But it's not always a perfect method. If a person's been runnin', or exertin' themselves, their heart rate is gonna be elevated anyway, and they're gonna smell like sweat. Yer speedster smells like sweat most of the time."

"Jet." She had a bit of a glare on her face.

"What's that?"

"His name. My 'speedster'. His name is Jet. He's one of my closest friends." Yep, there was definitely some heat in her voice. I chuckled, "Fine. Jet. He stinks."

"Yeah, actually I've noticed that myself." She giggled a little at that. _Damn, but that's a great sound._ "Alright, well, you've answered my questions, but I have one more. What is it exactly that I'm helping you with?"

I took a deep breath, and felt a brief moment of doubt. It wasn't my life I was about to entrust this little woman with. As I let out the air I was holding, I realized that I trusted her completely. I couldn't have told you why, but I did. I'd just talked to her more in the last hour than I'd talked to anyone since Dad had left.

"Ya gotta promise to keep this to yerself. No matter what. Gimme yer word." She was very solemn as she studied me, which made me even more confident that I was making the right choice. "Okay. I give you my word. And words are everything to me." I nodded and stood up. "Then come with me." I turned and started walking towards my orphans without looking to see if she was following.

* * *

 _ **A/N - Credit goes to Patricia Briggs, one of my favorite authors, for the details on the scents and detecting lies. That is straight from her Mercy Thompson series.**_

 _ **Sorry for the delay in posting, I've been moving houses this whole last week and I think I might be dead.**_


	7. A Secret Revealed

"Ya gotta promise to keep this to yerself. No matter what. Gimme yer word." I looked at him for a moment, thinking hard before answering. It felt like he was about to trust me with a huge part of his life. "Okay. I give you my word. And words are everything to me." He nodded and stood up. "Then come with me." Gajeel turned and started walking away without looking to see if I was following. I scrambled out of my seat, tucking my notepad and my book into the satchel I was wearing.

I had to run for a minute to almost catch up with him. _Why do people with long legs have to walk so fast?!_ His shirt was sleeveless, leaving my view of his muscular arms unimpeded. It clung to his back, showing the sculpted muscles there too. I ripped my gaze away as Gajeel slowed down and looked over his shoulder at me. I looked away and took in the area we were in. The buildings were somewhat shabby, several of them having the appearance of being abandoned. "Umm, Gajeel?" I looked back to see him staring at me. "Yeah, Shrimp?" His red eyes were distracting, they were so bright. I felt my cheeks flush. "Uh, well, it's just, where are we going?" Gajeel's gaze left me to skim our surroundings. He seemed to be looking for something. I'd guess he was satisfied with what he saw, because he looked back to me before walking down a different street. "This way."

"This way? That's a direction, not a destination... What are we doing?" Now that I was jogging to stay even with him, I saw his eyes constantly roaming, watching the people around us. He decided not to answer me, but changed directions again, turning us down yet another street. A few more abrupt changes like this and I was lost and trailing behind him again. I was pretty sure we'd gone in at least one circle.

Finally, he came to a stop, catching me off guard. I ran into his back and squeaked, bouncing off and falling. I felt a strong hand grip my elbow and keep me from colliding with the ground though, and glanced up to see his face very close to mine. _Up close, that red isn't as scary, really. His eyes are kind of... entrancing..._ I shook my head to clear my thoughts as he stood us back up. "Sorry." I mumbled. Looking down, I saw that he still had hold of my elbow. Gajeel seemed to notice at the same time, and snatched his hand away. "Nah, don't worry about it, Shrimp. Not like ya hurt me or nothin'."

I looked around again, and saw an old warehouse nestled between a few other buildings in various states of disrepair. Unconsciously, I stepped closer to Gajeel, feeling uncomfortable with my surroundings. "Gajeel, what are we doing here?"

* * *

I had taken the more difficult way to get to the warehouse, but it didn't take that much longer. Even though I had to walk really slow so the short one could keep up. As we came up to the building, I stopped, but she must not have been paying attention, because she collided with me. I whirled around as she let out a sound and caught her before she could fall.

She looked up at me with her large hazel eyes, and I heard her heart rate spike. I was careful not to breathe too deeply, not wanting to know she was afraid. I pulled her fully upright, and couldn't help but notice how soft her skin was under my hand. She looked down at my hand holding her arm though, and I dropped it as quick as I could. I swallowed as she looked away, trying to figure out what was going on with my own heart rate. _Why is it racing?_ Levy stepped closer to me as she looked around, but I don't think she meant to. "Gajeel, what are we doing here?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I need ya to help me teach someone how to read." I watched her for a reaction. She whipped her face back around to look at me, surprise written clearly in her eyes. "Look, I'll give ya more details later if ya really feel ya need 'em. But for now, know that I'm takin' care of these youngins, and I don't want anyone else to know about them." I didn't give her any more chance to respond as I stomped up to the door and opened it, knocking as I went in.

"Gajeel!" I heard the chirp that was becoming familiar as Sam popped up in front of me. She threw her arms around me, pressing her face into my stomach. I gently removed her, ruffling her hair as she tried to slap my hands away. "Hey kid, I was just here, ya don't have to act like ya haven't seen me in forever." I glanced over at the bluenette and was torn between laughter and embarrassment. Her eyes were like saucers, her mouth gaping in shock. Sam followed my gaze, and yelped before popping out of sight again. "Well, c'mon Shorty, we don't have all day." I motioned for her to precede me into the building.

* * *

 _Youngins? What is he talking about?_ Before I could ask any more questions, Gajeel had a door open, knocking on it as he went. I heard a small voice say, "Gajeel!" And suddenly there was a redheaded girl, almost as tall as me, hugging him. _Hugging him?!_ He had a soft smile on his face as he gently pulled her arms from him and ruffled her hair. I could feel my eyes bugging out of my head, but I just couldn't hide my shock. He muttered something to the girl and she looked over at me. A yelp came out of her mouth, and she wasn't there anymore. She didn't run, she just wasn't there. Between one breath and the next she had disappeared.

I snapped my mouth shut as the man in front of me gestured into the building, saying something about not having all day. I shook myself and headed towards the door. I paused just inside to let my eyes adjust to the dim lighting and felt Gajeel at my back. I turned sideways in the narrow hall and he brushed past me. I was grateful for how dark it was at that moment, hiding my blush. Then I remembered him saying something about the dark not changing his eyesight and was thankful instead that he wasn't looking at me.

My blush and embarrassment were immediately forgotten, however, when I left the hallway for a large room. There, in front of me, stood a group of children. The oldest couldn't have been more than thirteen. There was a wariness to all of their expressions, like they were afraid but didn't want to show it. I looked at Gajeel and thought I saw some guilt cross his features before he opened his mouth to yell. "Alright ya brats! Enough gawkin'! Sit down and shut up, this woman's gonna teach ya." I frowned at him for a minute, trying to figure out why he was being so harsh, then I turned to smile at the kids. To my surprise, they looked more afraid of me than they'd been of Gajeel!

I cleared my throat and looked around, trying to ease some of the awkwardness. I suddenly put a few details together. "Hi! My name is Levy. I guess I'm here to teach you all to read?" One young boy glared at me with red eyes from behind a mess of black hair. He could have been Gajeel's little brother, they looked so similar! I saw the small redhead from earlier, half hiding behind an older boy who was clearly her brother. No one seemed all that eager to say anything to me.

A tiny blonde, at most six years old, started to step towards me, but was snatched back by another girl. _How in the world am I more imposing than Gajeel?!_ Finally, I saw a stack of books on a table nearby, and decided to stick to what I knew. I stopped looking at the fearful faces around me and walked up to the books. Most of them were books for teaching to read, but there was a children's story book too. I sat down in a nearby chair, picking up the book as I did. I knew this book very well; I'd almost memorized most of it. I flipped to my favorite story and began to read aloud.

"Once upon a time . . . as a merchant set off for market, he asked each of his three daughters what she would like as a present on his return. The first daughter wanted a brocade dress, the second a pearl necklace, but the third, whose name was Beauty, the youngest, prettiest and sweetest of them all, said to her father 'All I'd like is a rose you've picked specially for me!'"

I continued to read, never looking up until I'd finished the story. When I did raise my eyes, I saw all of the children seated on the floor around me. Several little ones were laying down asleep, their heads on an older child's lap. Most surprising of all, I saw Gajeel seated against the wall not far from me. His head was leaned back, his eyes closed. But I could tell he wasn't sleeping. Even as I looked at him, I saw one crimson eye open just a hair, staring out at me. I quickly looked back to the children.

They acted as if they were coming out of a stupor, and they all began talking at once. "What was that? Were all of those words really in the book? How do you know what to say? Are there more stories?" I laughed as the questions overlapped each other. "Yes, yes! There are more stories out there than a person can read in a lifetime! I would be happy to teach you all!" With that, they calmed a little, and I grabbed another book, carefully setting the storybook down. "How about we make a deal? If you all listen to what I tell you, and try your best at every task I give you, I'll read another story before I leave. Sound fair?" I laughed again as they all clamored to agree to my terms, well, mostly all. A few of them hung towards the back, wary looks on their faces. I shrugged, then settled in to teach these wonderful beings the alphabet.

* * *

 _ **A/N Sorry again for my lack of publishing! Moving is finally complete, house repairs made, life is slowing down, blah blah details you don't want. XD**_

 _ **The story Levy is reading is Beauty and the Beast. I actually had this written quite some time before the movie came out, but fortuitous timing! That movie is fantastic, in case anyone was wondering. Much squee.**_

 _ **As always, go check Muddyevil! She's the absolute best, truly.**_

 _ **Much loves!**_


	8. Innocence

As soon as the shrimp smiled at the kids the sour stench of fear flooded the building. _Ah shit, I should have told her._ I'd somehow forgotten she was such an innocent. She wouldn't know that nice means unsafe to kids like this. I was gruff with the brats, but fair. They'd stopped being as afraid of me that first day because they understood me. Give me their obedience and I'd protect them. That's how it works for kids like us.

I was just about to open my mouth and say something to her when she abruptly walked toward the stack of books. She pulled one out carefully and sat down, seeming to have forgotten anyone else was here with her. As she did this and began reading a story aloud, I saw the orphans settling down. One or two at a time, they sat on the floor at her feet, their attention on the tiny woman. I looked up, realizing I'd been sucked in too, not even remembering sitting on the floor. Ryos was lurking nearby, trying not to be interested in the story, as were one or two other older kids. Fitz stood nearby too, though the redhead wasn't sulking. He was just continuing to be watchful of his family as he listened.

I'd never heard this story before, but it felt pretty fitting for our situation. The poor beauty being scared of her captor, being too nice to put up a fight. _Ha. She fell in love with him? Like that'd happen in real life. Not with the way he treated her._ Her voice was musical. I don't think it would have actually mattered what she was saying, I would have listened all day. It was as if she had cast a spell over us. But, I felt the peaceful feeling fade as I realized she had stopped speaking. I opened an eye just enough to gauge the room, and saw her gazing fondly at the brats.

A warm feeling settled back into my stomach, and I smiled to myself. I stayed where I was, not drawing any attention to myself, and listened to her bargaining with the kids. That was good. They'd trust a bargain over something free. I listened for a good while, thinking how much Dad could have learned from her about teaching. He'd never been all that gracious with me.

I heard Ryos lurking still, and pushed myself silently off the ground. I tugged his sleeve as I walked by and murmured, "come with me." He jumped a little and just stared at me, but followed without a word. I was only a little surprised when I saw that the sun was setting. My body had already been telling me it had been several hours since my sandwich at the cafe, and I didn't even know if the munchkins had eaten today. I looked at the sullen boy next to me, and told him we were going to grab some grub for evening.

* * *

"Hey guys, let's take a break for a minute. Want to see something?" They all set down their papers and stared at me, the few older kids who weren't participating tried to look disinterested. I grinned and lifted my pen, "Solid Script: Light!" I uttered the word as I wrote it, focusing my magic to put just so much in. The word "light" began to glow softly. I didn't want it too bright yet, not with the children staring at it. My grin turned into a smile as I saw the wonder in their eyes. I quickly wrote the word once more and then directed them both into the open air above me. "Okay, now everyone, look away from the letters for a minute. You don't have to close your eyes just don't stare at the words I just wrote."

I waited until most of them looked down, and decided the rest would just have to learn to listen to me. I directed more magic energy into the words, and the light flared up, shining as brightly as the sun had been when I got here. I heard gasps and a few yelps, as the ones who had been staring directly at the words slapped hands over their eyes. The kids who'd listened to instruction laughed at their friends, and I giggled with them.

"Miss?" I stopped laughing as a young redheaded boy called to me. He hadn't been one of the children sitting around me learning; he was probably the oldest one here. "Yes?" I replied, keeping my face as neutral as possible as I walked over to him. I still didn't know what had scared the littles earlier, but I had been trying really hard not to do it again.

The boy looked a little shy as he spoke to me, his eyes looking anywhere but at me. "Thank you for coming today. We, uh, we don't have any jewel to pay you for your lessons." He finally blurted out, slurring the last few words together. In the new light, I could see the blush that was tinting his face. I smiled, though he still wasn't looking at me.

"Oh! That's fine! I wasn't expecting any jewel as payment!" At this he did look at me, his eyes widening, fear and something else lingering in them. Was that anger?

"I'm payin' her, from the jewel ya gave me, kid. We'll work out how much ya owe me later. Now go eat." I jumped at the rumbling voice that was suddenly right behind me. As the boy scuttled past me to the table, I whirled around to see Gajeel standing a foot away with his arms crossed over his chest, showing off his muscles and the studs embedded in his forearms. I pulled my gaze away from his well defined arms to see him glaring at me. "What?!" I squeaked out.

Faster than I could see, he took hold of my arm and pulled me into a room nearby and I felt my pulse spike. I didn't try to resist, I knew it wouldn't make a difference. He shut the door behind us after he made sure we were alone. _He's a guild mate now. He won't hurt me. He's a guild mate now. He won't hurt me._ As this ran through my head, he took a deep breath, as if he needed to calm down. "Hey, hey, it's okay. I ain't gonna hurt ya." He murmured in a low voice, raising his open hands to show me empty palms. I could feel myself shaking, and tried not to flinch.

"I'm sorry Shrimp, I'm just screwin' this up all over. Look, I just needed to explain somethin' without the bastards around." He gestured back towards the room we'd been in, then took a few steps away from me and looked around the room. When those intense eyes, cold and beautiful, looked away from me, I relaxed a little. Glancing around, I realized we were in someone's living quarters. I stepped over to a bed and sat on the end and pulled my legs up to my chest. "Okay. I'm listening." I was proud of myself for not having a shaky voice.

* * *

The smell of her fear was so thick I could almost taste it, especially in such a small area, and I cursed myself for causing it again. I looked around the room to let her calm down, but my eyes weren't really taking anything in. All of my other senses were on her and the kids in the other room. I heard them exclaiming over the food Ryos and I had brought back. Some of it we'd paid for. Some we hadn't. I also heard the Shrimp's racing heartbeat start to slow down a little. The rank scent of fear was still lingering though.

"Okay. I'm listening." I heard her clear words and looked at her again, a strange ache in my chest. She appeared so vulnerable sitting on that bed that I fought the urge to put my arms around her. _No, idiot. That'd probably make things worse._ "Look, Shrimp, I did this wrong. I'm sorry. I shoulda warned ya. Bein' nice is dangerous around these kids. Not that they'll hurt ya, I mean, but to them, nice is dangerous. And no one does nothin' fer them fer free, either. If someone doesn't want money as payment, their usually lookin' fer, uh, well, somethin' else." I mentally kicked myself for taking away some of her innocence as her eyes widened, but she needed to know. "They ain't scared of me, 'cause they know where they stand with me when I'm sharp like with 'em. I'm the head boss, they do what I say an' I don't punish 'em. Not that I would anyway, really, but they ain't figured that yet. Someday they may trust ya. I dunno. But I ain't lettin' anyone get at these kids, and I ain't lettin' 'em join a guild that'll change 'em into monsters like me." I bit out that last comment, not really meaning to share that much. The shock and revulsion I'd seen in her face softened, and I could see her thinking quickly, trying to process everything.

"I understand, Gajeel. Or at least, I'm beginning to. Thank you for explaining it to me, I was stressing out about how scared they were of me. I think I'll go grab some food now, and try not to be too nice." She hopped off the bed and brushed past me, and I felt a little pat on my arm as she did. I stayed where I was for a minute, not looking at her as she left. The tiny woman stopped at the door and turned back. "And you didn't turn out so bad, really." I whirled to respond, to snap at her and ask how almost killing her wasn't so bad, but all I saw was the door closing behind her. _She couldn't possibly be forgiving me?_


	9. End of the Night

I left the room Gajeel had dragged me into as quickly as I could without running. I found the table full of food scraps, though there was a plate set neatly aside with various things on it. "Miss? We saved some food for you." A sweet little boy with dark blue hair was tugging on my shirt. I looked down and smiled at him. "Thank you, James." These kids may have been taught to fear kindness, but I was going to reeducate them. Goodness shouldn't be so tainted in ones so young.

I grabbed my plate and ate quickly. It was really kind of late, and I'd promised the kids another story before I left. They had definitely earned it. As I stuffed food into my mouth, not worrying about manners any more than the kids did, I thought about which one to read this time. I finally settled on the one where the young maid is treated like a slave by her family, then rescued by a fairy godmother. It struck me as something the kids might connect with. I mean, I do belong to Fairy Tail.

"James, would you mind bringing me the story book?" He was sitting nearest to it, and leapt up in excitement at my request. I set my plate back on the table and took the large tome from the boy. "Alright. I'll read one more story before I go. You all did so well today, you've certainly earned it." I looked around the room before launching into my story. _When did Gajeel come back in?_

* * *

I walked back into the main room only moments after Levy, but she didn't seem to notice. I almost missed her, actually, thinking she'd decided to run out instead of eating. She's about the same height as half the kids, and she was eating just like them, shoveling everything in like someone was going to snatch it. I almost laughed, but I didn't want to bring about her wrath.

I'd eaten while collecting food, and told Ryos not to save me any, so I just found a stack of boxes to perch on and survey the room. I thought the day had gone well, but I'd have to ask Shrimp's opinion to know for sure how the kids did. She seemed pretty comfortable with them.

She settled into her chair once she was done inhaling her food, and asked one of the kids to bring her the storybook. I saw her eyes skim over me as she prepared to read one last story. I found myself almost as excited as I could tell the kids were. Her voice had magic properties when she was reading. Not like an actual spell, but it felt like it. You were transported into the story, making you feel like you were there, and felt completely at home, safely listening.

I closed my eyes again to better focus on her voice as she began telling a story of a girl who was abused by the family that was supposed to protect her after her father's death. I actually knew this story, and thought that it would strike a chord with some of my brats. _This one's a good choice._

When she'd finished her story, we left the children to their devices and headed towards the guild. Neither one of us said anything for the first few blocks. I was surprised at how reluctant I was to break the companionable silence. I was also very aware of the small woman walking next to me. She was happy, almost bouncing as she walked.

"Well, Shrimp," I finally said, "how'd they do?" She lost some of her bounce as she thought back over the day. "Most of them did really well. I think they've all had a little bit of education at some point. There were a few who didn't actively participate, but that's okay. Different people learn differently. Even the little ones." She looked at me slyly, and I realized she'd made fun of herself with that statement too.

"Gihi, yeah Shrimp. We all learn differently." There was silence again for a little bit longer.

"Thanks for doin' this-"  
"So do you want to explain-" she laughed as we started talking over each other. I gestured for her to ask her question first. "You're welcome, of course! But do you want to explain what exactly that was?" When had she started trusting me so much? She did all of this, gave up her almost entire day, and she didn't even know why.

"Well, it started as a job. The bastards st- uh, saved jewel to hire a mentor so they could learn magic to protect themselves. I agreed to do it." I didn't want her turning them in for theft. Or thinking less of them.

"They saved. By stealing it from others." There wasn't really a question in her voice, but I answered it with a slow nod anyway. She stopped walking and rocked from her heels to her toes, swinging her arms a little. It was adorable. I snapped my wandering eyes to her face, but she hadn't noticed. "Do you mind telling me why you don't want anyone to know about this?"

I just stared at her for a minute, surprised at her acceptance of their delinquency. "I-I don't trust easily." I started slowly. Her head cocked sideways a little as she listened, kind of doglike. "I don't want someone to take them away from each other. They need the family that they've built for themselves. It's all they got left, really." I stopped, realizing I was babbling, and saw a weird look on her face. _Is that... Pity?_ I turned and kept walking. She'd be fine on her own, we were out of the bad neighborhoods by now. I heard her stepping quickly to catch up with me, but she didn't say anything else.

As we finally neared the guildhall, noise pouring from inside, she paused again. "Gajeel, wait." I turned towards her, but didn't really look at her. I didn't like this unsettled feeling she gave me. "What do you want me to tell people if they asked where I've been?" Again, surprise hit me like a battering ram, and I couldn't think. "I dunno, Shorty. Whatever ya gotta to keep them from askin' questions. Remember yer word not to say nothin'."

" _Anything_ , Gajeel. I gave my word not to say anything. And I won't. I'll, umm, hmm. I'll just tell people I was reading, if they ask." She furrowed her brow in thought, then nodded. "Yeah. I was reading today. That's pretty normal for me. Plus it's the truth." She suddenly smiled, a blindingly bright thing, and said, "See ya!" As she walked into the guild. I made to grab her, a part of me desperately wanting to see that smile again. Then I realized where we were and stopped myself. I leaned against the building instead, crossing my arms over my chest and watched her from the shadows as her hips swayed. She threw herself against the doors and they flung open, releasing a cacophony of noise.

* * *

The look in his eyes was so vulnerable. _He was like them. Before his dragon found him. He was wandering with no family. And probably after Metalicana disappeared, too._ My sadness for him must have shown in my face, because he seemed to get irritated and walked away again. I had to run to catch up. Finally, I couldn't keep my jogged pace anymore, and I realized we were almost back to Fairy Tail. "Gajeel, wait." I called. He stopped, but wouldn't look at me. I took a moment to catch my breath, and then asked, "What do you want me to tell people if they asked where I've been?" He looked at me then, like I'd just struck him. "I dunno, Shorty. Whatever ya gotta to keep them from askin' questions. Remember yer word not to say nothin'."

I couldn't resist correcting him. Not this time. " _Anything_ , Gajeel. I gave my word not to say anything. And I won't. I'll, umm, hmm. I'll just tell people I was reading, if they ask." I thought, then nodded. "Yeah. I was reading today. That's pretty normal for me. Plus it's the truth." I smiled and added, "See ya!" And then I turned and walked into the guild.

The usual chaos was running rampant through the hall, so I skirted around the edge of the room. "Lu-chan!" I called to my blonde friend. "Levy-chan!" She yelled back, turning from the fight she'd been watching. Natsu and Gray were yelling insults at each other every time one of them struck the other. I laughed as I came up to Lucy. "What set them off this time?"

"I don't even know. Does there even need to be a reason for those two? Hey, where've you been all day? Jet and Droy were sulking. They thought you decided to do a job without them, even though Mira said you hadn't." I sat at the table next to her, both of us turning back to the fight. It was always a good idea to keep an eye on them, or you might get hit by flying debris.

"I was out reading. I can't believe I forgot to tell my team I wasn't going anywhere! They really should know me by now though... There aren't a lot of jobs someone like me could do alone." I looked down at my hands as I blushed. I wasn't lying, not really. I'd done a lot of reading today. And I'm not really strong enough to do jobs on my own. _Wait, little Sam said Gajeel's going to train them... Maybe I could get him to train me too? I could tell the kids that was how they're paying me, by letting me learn to be strong too!_

I looked up as the doors to the hall banged open again, Gajeel thudding inside. I almost leapt up to go ask him right away about training me, but remembered at the last minute that most people thought I was still afraid of him. They wouldn't understand that I had forgiven him. I'm pretty sure Lu-chan had too. We were the ones he hurt most directly, so if we could forgive him and move on, why couldn't the others? They didn't know about this softer side of him I'd seen today, either. _That's really sad, actually. He's not as bad as everyone thinks._ There were a lot of glares leveled at the big lug as he walked through the hall. Even after everything he did during the Festival, a lot of our guild mates didn't trust him yet.

I realized I was staring, and pulled my gaze back to Lucy. She was watching me, worry on her face. I smiled at her and asked, "So Lu, what did you do today?" Her face brightened as she started telling me about a job she, Happy, and Natsu had gone on. Those three got into more trouble than anyone else in the guild. I laughed when she started whining about her rent money again. _Oh yeah, I'd better pay mine too!_

* * *

 _ **A/N As seems to be becoming my norm, sorry for the late post. I swear I'm working on it and going to get better! Especially since the ever wonderful Muddyevil and Kmmcm have been given permission to harass me.**_

 _ **Also, keep a lookout, Muddyevil and I are writing a**_ ** _collaboration and will begin publishing it soon! Sunday... I think. She keeps asking and I keep stalling because of course she's amazing and has several chapters finished and I don't. She's the best, I fuckin' swear. Thanks so much, dearhreart, for putting up with all of my stalling and constantly inspiring to get my ass in gear. *less than three*_**

 ** _Also, also, leave a review if you like the story, if there's something you think I can improve, if you have questions, or if you just wanna say hi! I legit explode with happiness when I read them, and have been known to write in extra bits because people suggest something. Much loves!_**


	10. Resolve

"...vy. Levy... LEVY!" I was suddenly aware of Droy, standing next to me, reading my notes. "Huh? What?" I asked, realizing I'd been spacing out. "You weren't looking at what you were writing," Jet said. "Usually when you zone out while translating, you look at your writing and mumble... Trying something new?"

I glanced down to see that I'd been writing, and freaked out a little bit. _Ryos - shadow, Sam - teleport, Steven - light? Solar?_ I fought the urge to scribble out my notes, since that's not something I normally do. I didn't want to tip them off that I was writing something that didn't have anything to do with our job. "Oh! Y-yeah. I was trying something new. Hang on, I'm almost done!" I smiled at my friends, hoping it didn't look as fake as it felt. I shifted my pages around to hide the names and finished my translation. I was truthfully almost done with it, which was why my focus had shifted back to the kids. I'd translated something on solar power in this manuscript, and it reminded me of one of the little boys, Steven. He had a type of Light magic, but I couldn't quite classify it. I thought it might be solar.

I'd gone to see the orphans a few days ago, before Shadow Gear left to do this job. I'd talked to them about what magics they were hoping to learn, so I could look into ways to help Gajeel train them. He's a very talented wizard, at least at physical magics. Some of the finer points, not so much. Anyway, there was a little boy there who was terrified of the dark, so he wanted something to create light with. He'd really loved the light I'd made with my Script magic, but his dyslexia made words hard for him.

I glanced up at my teammates to see if they were still interested in what I was writing, but I needn't have worried. Like usual, they were lounging around, bored out of their minds, while I did my part. I hid a sigh, frustrated again that I was always holding them back. When we'd first made our team, we were all about the same, physically at least. But, our early teens had been nicer to them than me. They sprouted up and developed muscles, and I stayed about the same. This time I did sigh.

"What's wrong, Levy?" They asked in unison. "Nothing." I mumbled back, stacking up my notes. "I'm done though, let's go see our client." I tried to look cheerful, but I don't think they were buying it. "C'mon Levy, tell us what's wrong?" Droy really didn't like it when I got upset.

"I'm just so useless! I hold you guys back! I can't do a stupid job by myself because it's not safe for me to travel alone being so weak and small, but it's not fair to make you guys follow me on jobs just to sit around and do nothing!" I fought down the lump in my throat, refusing to cry on top of everything else. They looked at each other, over my head of course, and then started walking with me. I knew I wasn't the only one who'd thought about this then, since neither of them argued with me at first.

"You're not useless, Levy. We're not going to say we're not bored sometimes, but we're a team, no matter what!" Jet replied, though he didn't sound very convincing. "Thanks, Jet. Let's just get this finished and go home." I busied myself looking at my notes, slipping the one about the orphans into my dress pocket when they weren't looking. I'd promised a certain dragon slayer that I wouldn't tell anyone about the kids, and I wouldn't break my word. Even if I didn't understand his lack of trust for the guild. _I guess he didn't grow up in a good guild, like I did. He doesn't understand yet that Fairy Tail is more like a family than anything else._

I would never tell anyone, but I thought it was super sweet, what he was doing for the children in that warehouse. It was fun watching him interact with them. I found my mood improving as I thought about being back with them in another few days.

Once we'd turned the manuscript over to our client and gotten paid, we jumped on a train and settled in for our ride back to Magnolia. Our train car was pretty comfy, which was good since we'd be on it for more than a day. Jet probably could have run there in half the time, but since we're a team he stayed with us. There were bunks that folded out of the wall to lie down on, and each of the boys were stretched out on one already. I bent my legs and settled a book onto them so I could take some more notes about the magic I wanted to teach Steven.

Before I knew it, I was struggling to read. I looked up, blinking hard, to see that almost all of the light had left the car. The sun was setting outside, and both of my friends were asleep. A plate was sitting next to me with a cold sandwich and an apple. _I missed dinner again. I wonder if they tried talking to me? I'm such a horrible friend._

I picked up my apple and turned onto my stomach to look at the sunset. It was a beautiful pink color, although right at the horizon it was red. A deep red that had me thinking about a pair of eyes. I let my mind wander as I munched on my apple and stared at the fading colors. _I definitely think I could get the big lug to train me with the kids! They can let me spar with them, since they're closer to my level than anyone else I know!_ With that resolve in my mind, I finished eating and stretched out to sleep.

* * *

We got to the guildhall just about lunch time the next day, and decided to just eat there. I went by Fairy Hills to drop off my stuff and pay my rent with my job earnings. When I got to the hall, I looked around for a certain black haired man, but didn't see him. I saw Jet and Droy waving, and acted as if I'd been looking for them the whole time.

While eating with my friends, Lucy and Natsu had showed up too, I kept casting a quick glance around to see if Gajeel had shown up. I was really anxious about training, and wanted to ask him before I chickened out. But he never showed up. My teammates said they'd catch up with me later and headed out on a quick job that I really would just get in the way on. I waved them off with a smile, trying to hide my relief. "Well, Lu-chan, I'm gonna head out too. I got a new book earlier that I want to read!" I wasn't really lying, I did have a book to read. I just wasn't going to right now.

She waved, and then smacked Natsu as he tried to steal some of her food. I left the hall and wandered around town, hoping I'd maybe run into Gajeel. After a while, I walked past the side of a small house only a few blocks from the club I liked to go dance at and heard music blaring out the open window. Normally I'm not a nosy person, but it was one of my favorite bands, so I peeked in the window.

Then I froze, as I took in the raven hair - pushed back with a headband, the bunched shoulder muscles that then pulled my eyes to muscular arms. His back was to the window, and I could see that there was a bar across those distracting muscles with a ridiculous amount of weight on each end. I felt my cheeks heat up as my eyes continued to take in the sight of Gajeel's very well defined back and drifted down... He suddenly straightened as if he sensed my gaze, dropping the bar to the ground. I hit the ground about the same time, ducking under the windowsill.

I was sure he'd seen me, or that he would have maybe smelled me. Probably he couldn't hear me over his music, which continued to blast out the window. I sat huddled for a whole extra song before I gathered the courage to peek in the window again. What I'd thought was just a particularly loud beat had actually been him throwing punches at a bag hanging in the corner. If I had thought the squats were fascinating... This was mesmerizing. But at the same time, I could feel my anxiety rising. The first time I saw him moving like that... I shuddered as the memory of his fists flying into my friends while I stood there helpless flitted through my mind. Just then, the breeze shifted, blowing into the room, and he froze.


	11. Training

My nostrils flared as I smelled paper and ink, and I stopped myself just before I started searching for the tiny woman. I knew she wasn't around. She'd left a few days ago on a mission, but I kept smelling her. Or seeing flashes of blue that looked like her hair. Or hearing her laugh. _What the hell is wrong with me?_ I couldn't believe how much she was on my mind since she left. I growled in frustration, and decided I needed to leave the guildhall. It was only just after breakfast, but I didn't really have any reason to stick around. Old lady Porlyusica finally took my bandages off today and cleared me for all activity. I thudded out, slamming the door behind me, and went home. _I just need to do something other than sit around._ I'd been working with the orphans every evening, but that didn't really keep my muscles in use; the brats hardly had any physical strength yet, so I didn't have to use mine at all.

I left my door open and grabbed the back of my shirt, pulling it over my head. I dropped it where I was standing, and looked around my living room. I'd converted most of it into a weight room. Walking over to a set of shelves, I turned on my workout music, loud and thumping. It got my heart racing and kept me moving. **Hahahaha, let the sparks fly... There's no such thing as maybe, burn it like it's fading, no more hesitating let the sparks fly baby...** Then I pushed open the window, allowing a cross breeze to push my hair out of my face. I snagged a red bandana and tied it around my forehead to keep my hair out of my eyes, and I was ready.

 _Hmm, I'll do squats first. That takes enough concentration I can get her out of my mind._ I walked over to the bar, stretching out my arm and shoulder muscles. I positioned myself under the bar hanging on the wall, took a grip, and lifted it down onto my shoulders. I staggered a little as I stepped forward, _Damn, I'm more out of practice than I thought._ I got my balance, and began my exercise.

 **Give me one if it's real and two if you can feel it, give me three signs that you're awake.** I let settled myself into a rhythm with the song, intently focused on what I was doing. I lost track of how long I was doing squats, enjoying the burn in my muscles. I started to feel like someone was staring at me though, so I stopped what I was doing, straightening all the way and letting the bar drop off my shoulders. I looked around and didn't see anyone, and of course I couldn't hear anything over the music. That was part of why I had it so loud.

I shook off the feeling that someone had been watching me and put the bar back on its rack, then pulled some fingerless gloves with a little padding across the knuckles onto my hands. Clenching my fists a few times and shaking my arms out, I approached the heavy bag in the corner as the next song began. Again I allowed the thundering beat to pull me into a rhythm. **Boom!** Slam went my fist. **Here comes the boom! Ready or not,** a few quick jabs. **Boom! Here comes the boom! How you like me now?** _Heh, this is always a fun song to hit things to._

Suddenly, the wind shifted, blowing in the window instead of my open door and I smelled her again. Paper, ink, and a little fear. I froze, a panic in my gut as I remembered swinging my fists into a tiny body. I remembered the hollow sound of her head colliding with a wall and almost threw up. I felt my arms shaking, but not from the exertion of my workout. I whirled towards the window, intending to get some fresh air to clear my head. But instead, I locked eyes with a blue haired woman looking into my window. "Shrimp?" Her eyes were wide, her cheeks flushed, and she took off running.

I bolted out the door, catching her as she rounded the corner of my house, and grabbed her arm carefully. She was already afraid, I didn't want to make it worse. I held it long enough for her to realize I was there and stop running, then dropped my hand. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't expect to see ya here. I didn't think anyone knew where I lived." I backed up a step as she took a few slow breaths to calm down.

"No, I'm the one who should be sorry. I was trespassing. I didn't actually know where you lived, I was just walking around and heard the music. I was looking for you though..." She trailed off and looked away, as if she was embarrassed. I fought to keep the surprise off my face, and the smile I felt hiding just under the surface. "Looking for me? Why? I didn't even know you were back."

"I figured out how I want to be paid for my help with the kids." She blurted, still not looking at me. I ignored the strange sinking in my stomach. _Why did you THINK she was looking for you, dummy?_ "Yeah? And how's that, Tiny?" Immediately I felt bad for using the nickname, even though I don't usually. Hearing it seemed to actually make her sad. Usually it irritated her and I had to admit, if only to myself, I was beginning to enjoy arguing with the bluenette.

"I- um. Well, never mind. See ya!" She turned to leave, and I took a few quick steps so I was blocking her path. "Levy, I'm sorry. Please tell me?" I could practically feel the heat coming off her cheeks, but I couldn't figure out what in the world she was so embarrassed about. "Levy?"

* * *

Muscles. Rippling muscles, right in front of my face. _That's not fair when I'm trying to think!_ Gajeel had stepped right in front of me, his shirtless chest only inches away. My face was burning so hot I was sure he could probably feel it. My mind was both blank and racing, trying to come up with something to say, and my hands were itching to reach out and touch him. _What the heck is wrong with me?!_

It didn't help that he said my actual name. Twice. I don't know why it hit me so profoundly when he did that. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the butterflies in my stomach calmed down enough that I could blurt out, "Train me! Let me train with the kids so I'm not so weak and useless anymore!" That worked to get my thoughts cleaned up. _Great, now I have to try not to cry._ I clenched my fists, digging my nails into my palms, hoping the pain would clear my head some more. "I can't train with the people in the guild because no one wants to hurt a pathetic little bookworm, and how could they not feel like that? They're so much stronger! But the kids are probably on the same level as me! Maybe. Even some of them are probably tougher than me." _Nope, there's the tears. Dang it._

I briskly wiped my cheeks and looked up at the man standing in front of me. I don't know what I expected to see, maybe disgust for such a display of emotions and weakness. But instead, I saw tenderness, his beautiful red eyes gentler than I'd ever seen them. He looked at me a moment, and then he just nodded. "Okay. That'll work. I'm sure they'll be okay with that. They'll get ya pretty well, too. The whole reason I'm teachin' them is 'cause they already hit the point yer just reachin'." He stepped towards the inside of his house, then looked back at me. "C'mon. Lemme see what ya've got, and I'll figure out a trainin' plan."

I do believe that was the biggest shock yet. He didn't argue with me, didn't laugh, didn't call me any names. I mutely followed him into his house, looking around as my curiosity got the better of me. The room I walked into was completely decked out with training equipment, with the exception of a huge comfy looking couch against one wall. It looked like it was one of those big fluffy couches that tries to eat you in when you sit down.

My eyes landed on Gajeel, and I realized he was watching me. I flushed, looking down at my feet. _What have I gotten myself into?_

* * *

 _ **A/N The first song Gajeel's training to is Let the Sparks Fly by Thousand Foot**_ ** _Krutch. They're my go to when I need to get my heart pumping. The second song is Boom by P.O.D._**


	12. Assessment

I wasn't really wearing workout clothes, just some snug jean shorts and one of my orange tank dresses with separate sleeves. But, Gajeel walked me through some basic exercises. He asked me how much I could lift, and I just looked at him. "Oh. Right. Well, I've seen ya carry as many as ten books, so this weight here should be manageable." He started messing with a few weights, then motioned for me to try to pick it up. He was right, the weight wasn't too much. It wasn't effortless, but I could carry it for a little bit without exhausting myself.

 _Gajeel knows how many books I usually carry?_ I don't know why that amused me. Next, he asked me to try to punch him. Again, I just looked at him. I wasn't TRYING to be difficult, this was just uncomfortable. "Look, Shrimp," he huffed, "yer not gonna hurt me." I shuffled my feet a little. "I know that, Gajeel. I have no hope of hurting you. It's just, I don't really fight physically. You'd laugh at me, and you probably wouldn't even feel it if I hit you full strength. Plus, I don't know how."

He gave me another assessing look, and I dropped my eyes. I meant to just not be staring at his eyes, but my gaze lingered on his sculpted abs. It really wasn't fair that the man was still standing there shirtless. I blinked and looked around the room again, waiting for instruction. "Fine. Here, come hit the bag. Then I can at least see how yer technique needs to be changed."

I followed him to the heavy bag hanging in the corner, then balled up my fists. I raised my hands up in front of my face like I'd seen Gajeel do a few minutes ago. Or at least, I thought it was the same way. "Hang on, hang on!" He blurted out before I could throw my punch, and I dropped my arms. _Don't be embarrassed,_ I chided myself, _you told him you had no idea what you were doing._

"Geez, Shrimp. Yer friends never taught ya anythin' about fightin'? That doesn't seem right, makin' ya so dependent on them. Look, hold yer fist like this." He pulled my hand up and moved my fingers, putting my thumb in front of my fingers instead of inside my fist. "And lock your wrist, like this." I forced myself to focus on the positioning of my hands, instead of how his hands were rough and strong, but also somehow gentle, and how the contact between our hands was sending tingles up my arm. "If ya don't lock yer wrist straight like this, the first time ya punch someone with any force you'll break it."

I clenched my hands and opened them a few times, getting myself used to how it was supposed to feel. I looked at Gajeel, and he nodded, so I readied myself to punch again. This time, he let me follow through on the motion. Fat lot of good it did though. The bag barely even moved, and I felt a shock travel all the way up into my shoulder. "Ow! Does it feel like that every time you hit someone?!" I shook my arm out. I heard the wonderful laugh that I was really coming to love, a deep rumbly sound that tickled my ears.

"Nah, it gets easier. Eventually ya get used to the feeling, and if you stand like this," his hands were suddenly on my hips, turning them so I wasn't facing the bag squarely, "bend this knee just a little, there, and balance your weight," he patted my thigh and left his hand there for a second until I bent my knee, "and hold your arms like this," he seemed completely oblivious to the scarlet my face was turning, "and follow through with the punch instead of letting the contact stop you, the shock will spread out better." He had removed his hands, but I could still feel each spot he'd touched. I rocked back and forth on my feet in the new position to get into my head how it was supposed to feel.

But, I couldn't ignore the feeling buzzing through me. It was a little like one time when we were kids that I'd bumped into Laxus and he'd accidentally zapped my shoulder, electricity coursing through my whole arm. There was a warmer feeling in my stomach, too.

"Okay. Umm, is that enough for today? I have some things I need to do..." I trailed off as I inched towards the door. He was watching me with those eyes again, but I hadn't the slightest idea what he was thinking. "Sure, Shrimp." He crossed his arms. "But, I expect to see you at training this evening. After dinner?" I nodded, not even thinking about what I was agreeing to, and turned to run out the door. I stopped just outside and looked back. "I don't know how to get to the warehouse, should I come here?" Gajeel looked a little surprised, but just nodded. "Okay. See you then!" Now that I wasn't so close to that distracting body that I couldn't think, I found I was really looking forward to this!

* * *

Levy took off out the door of my house, and I just stood there for a minute. I looked down at my arms, unfolding them so I could stare at my hands. As if that would tell me why my skin was on fire where it'd touched hers. I had been doing so well, too, watching her with the weights to make sure she didn't hurt herself. I'd kept my eyes on her lifting posture, not her slim, bare shoulders. But, then I'd watched her ball up her tiny hands, and had almost been too distracted by the cute look of determination on her face. I'd almost missed her terrible form, and then she might've been hurt.

I'd gotten angry then that her supposed _friends_ had never even taught her any basic self defense. "Geez, Shrimp. Yer friends never taught ya anythin' about fightin'?" I'd said. "That doesn't seem right, makin' ya so dependent on them. Look, hold yer fist like this." I was proud of myself for managing to keep the disdain I felt for those two losers out of my voice. But then I'd reached out and grabbed her hands. They were so soft. I kept myself talking to distract her from my hands lingering on hers. I positioned her fingers properly and explained why it was important to lock her wrist so she didn't break it. I DIDN'T intertwine my huge, rough fingers with her beautiful, soft, tiny ones. I DID notice how strong they were though.

I even kept a straight face as I watched the woman throw an obviously weak punch at the bag. _I know she's got muscle. I've seen her use it lugging around all of those books. She just doesn't have the confidence to put any of it into her swing._ "Ow! Does it feel like that every time you hit someone?!" I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my mouth at her reaction. I probably could have explained a proper stance without putting my hands on her again, but where's the fun in that?

I very pointedly didn't look at her face after I first saw her start blushing. Mostly because I was staring at how her waist fit perfectly in my hands as I moved her hips to face the bag at an angle; and at that amazing ass... And then the skin on her leg was so perfect and soft. I kept the surprise out of my face when I realized just how much muscle she really did have on those wiry little arms. _The separated sleeves she always wears hide her arms very well_. I don't think she noticed that I trailed my hands up her arms to her shoulders before removing my hands. _She probably thought I was just positioning her still._

I had finally stepped back again to see how her punch went this time, and was debating demonstrating how to do it by hitting the bag myself when she excused herself and started to leave. I just looked at her, knowing if I wasn't very careful, I'd ask her to stick around longer. And then she would feel threatened, most likely. So I just nodded, "Sure, Shrimp." As she started to leave, I couldn't resist, "But, I expect to see you at training this evening. After dinner?" My stomach clenched a little when she simply nodded.

She stopped just outside the open door and looked back at me. "I don't know how to get to the warehouse, should I come here?" The excitement I smelled then surprised me, so I just nodded. _She is as excited about this as she was about the book on dragons the other day!_ "Okay. See you then!" She said. Then she was gone again.

I realized I was still just standing in my living room, my muscles starting to cramp from not stretching out or cooling down. _Damn. She can really throw me for a loop. What the hell is up with that?_ She really wasn't my type. I mean, not that I had ever really decided a type. Emotions were a weakness in Phantom Lord, and I'd never wasted much time on women before. But, I knew she was way too tiny, I'd probably bump into her and break her. _Plus, she's scared of ya because ya almost killed her, ya damned fool._ With that happy thought in mind, I kicked my door shut and stomped towards my shower, stretching out my shoulders as I stepped into the water. I didn't even let it warm up first.

* * *

 _ **A/N I'm so sorry that these have been delayed. They've been done, just awaiting my final read through, but I have been distracted by the Definition of Insanity and life. As penance I will be posting four chapters all today! And maybe some later this week. .**_

 _ **You should thank muddyevil and kmmcm because they have been harassing me to post, because they are the absolute best. *less than three***_


	13. Fire It Up

It was still early to be going to the kids, and I was still a bit tense, so I went back over to the guildhall. I wouldn't be harassed by the sound and smell of a certain woman, since I knew she was back now. I threw the doors open and walked up to the bar. My workout had burned enough energy that I felt like eating again, so I had the demon woman grab me some iron. While waiting for my food, my gaze wandered around the hall. Salamander was sitting at a table not far from me, talking really loud.

I grinned to myself and reached into my pocket for my portable music player. Watching out of the corner of my eye to make sure he didn't leave, I scrolled through my songs. _I've been wanting to try this for a few days now..._ Making sure the volume was really low, I started the song, then sat the player in my lap so no one would see it. **I've got a bad case of turning it up, it's getting cold in here, so somebody FIRE IT UP!** At the word "fire" I saw his ears perk up, and the second time it went through the chorus he shoved himself up from the table. "I'M ALL FIRED UP! WHO WANTS TO FIGHT?!"

I set the player on the bar, then chuckled and jumped off my chair. "Well if yer wantin' to start one, I'll end it!" Making my fist into an iron club, I slammed him in the face. He went flying, crashing into the ice boy as I heard the music turn up. I glanced back over my should to see the She-Devil giggling as she cranked it up. _Damn, she's scary. I think she enjoys these fights as much as we do..._

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Stripper boy was yelling at the Flame-Brain. "Nothing's wrong with me! Gajeel knocked me into you! Think I like getting knocked into you, ya ice perv?!" I ran up to the two who were glaring daggers at each other, and slammed into both of them. "You princesses gonna stand around talkin' all day? Or are we gonna fight?" They shared a look, then sprung up from the floor at me, fists first. I ducked underneath them both, throwing punches into their stomachs.

I heard a rush of air from both of them and straightened, jumping back out of range. Then for some reason I was flying sideway across the room. "What the hell is wrong with it being cold in here?" Gray was yelling, hearing the words of the song for the first time. He had formed a block of ice around his fist, must have been what he clocked me with; there was a cold spot on the side of my head.

 **FIRE IT UP! C'MON AND FIRE IT UP!** Flames exploded out of the Salamander, and he launched himself at me. We exchanged punches for a moment before Gray jumped in, and I honestly lost track of who was hitting who. I got sent flying again, and crashed into a table. "Hey! Watch it!" I looked up from the floor to see the booze wench, Cana, holding her barrel of ale up to the side where she'd saved it from destruction. "A real man doesn't destroy people's drinks!" That one white-haired idiot yelled, grabbing ahold of my shirt and throwing me back at my opponents.

I grinned evilly and changed both arms into iron clubs again, and used the momentum of the throw to sock them both in the face. I realized they weren't the only ones fighting at this point, we had a regular mosh pit going on. With a laugh, I waded into the mix, throwing punches and kicks at anyone close enough. _Aah, this is fun._ My music had kept playing, one loud song after another, egging us on. I felt several hits against my back at once, and staggered forward a little, turning it into a roll and coming up in a crouch. I turned around and looked for an opening to wade back in, but suddenly the music stopped.

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" Titania was standing by the bar, my music player in her hand. "WHO STARTED THIS?" Technically it was me, although no one aside from Mira should have known that. I looked at her over Erza's shoulder, and saw her motioning for me to leave. I glanced at the Titania's face and decided that was a good idea, and dashed out the door while she was yelling at a certain pink haired idiot. I kept running for a block or two, then collapsed on a bench at the side of the road, laughing like an idiot.  
 _Man! I haven't had fun like that in a long time!_

* * *

 ** _Song is Fire It Up by Thousand Foot Krutch. I really feel like Gajeel loves his music loud and aggressive(sort of like him!) and we already know he's not above joking around with his guildmates. Even when he doesn't see them as friends yet._**

 ** _Anyway, just a short little bit, I had some fun writing this, buckle up for a few longer chapters in just a bit! As always, I'd love to hear your opinions on the story, it's always a boost to my day or a way to grow, and I appreciate both! Much loves!_**

 ** _P.S. Go read Muddyevil's stuff if you haven't already, and find kmmcm on Tumblr for her art is the best._**


	14. Musings

It's been two weeks. I've gone with Gajeel almost every night now for two weeks straight. I feel stronger, at least a little. My arms have started losing the little bit of flab I had, and my stomach too. He had me doing push ups, sit ups, lunges, some exercises with weights, AND practicing defense techniques with the kids. Every. Night. I was so tired, I barely had energy to shower before passing out by the time I got home.

I'd told Jet and Droy I was so tired because I'd been rearranging bookshelves in my apartment. Since I live in Fairy Hills, they're not allowed in, so they couldn't come help me anyway. They wouldn't know I had been lying to them. I hated that I was lying, but I knew they wouldn't understand. Wouldn't understand why I was helping Gajeel, keeping the kids secret, or even why I was trying to get stronger. They'd be hurt, thinking I didn't trust them to keep me safe. I did, mostly, but I didn't want to have to.

I was lying on my bed, an arm thrown over my eyes to keep the sun out of them, trying to convince myself to get up. My sore legs- we'd focused on legs yesterday- were protesting and I hadn't even tried to use them yet. The kids were doing great, doing all of the same exercises as me. They had agreed to let me train with them as payment for the reading lessons. And I offered to teach them basic maths too. I was really having a lot of fun, sore muscles aside.

I finally talked myself into getting up and dressed, wearing an orange halter dress that was trimmed with my usual detached sleeves and a headband that matched it around my head. I had to let out the band on my sleeves, just a little, my new muscles making them too tight. Finally, I pulled on some thigh-high black stockings and slipped my feet into black ankle booties. I was taking today off from working out, so I could wear clothes that were more cute than functional. _Maybe Lucy will go out with me later? I could use some girl time._

Presentable at last, I headed out to the guildhall for lunch. I'd slept through breakfast. Again. That had been happening almost every day this week. I walked in and saw Lucy at a table with Natsu, Gray, and Erza. Happy was perched on Natsu's shoulder like a bird. Gajeel was sitting at the bar, munching on some iron bits. I walked up to the bar and stood next to him, asking Mirajane for some food. While she was getting it around, I gave Gajeel a friendly smile and said "Good morning!" He raised a studded eyebrow and looked at me. "Hey." He looked at Mira, and glanced around to see if anyone was watching. "What's up?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to say good morning." I saw Mira watching us out of the corner of her eye, and Gray was watching too. Lucy probably told him to, since he was facing this way and her back was to me. I sighed a little, "I just... I'm not scared of you anymore, and wanted to say hi. That's all. Thanks for the food, Mirajane!" And I walked away. I almost laughed at the confusion in his face. He knew I wasn't afraid of him, much, because we'd been together almost every night at the kids' warehouse. But I was tired of how everyone else was treating him, so I figured I'd start letting them all see that he wasn't a terrible person.

"Lu-chan! Want to go out with me tonight?" I asked my friend as I sat down at the table. She smiled at me, "Sure! Anything specific?" I shook my head and chewed the food I had stuffed into my mouth. "Ooh, want to go get pedicures?!" She got excited, putting her hand to her face as she continued, "and I can have Cancer do our hair! We could go shopping! Oh! And there's a new book out I want to go get!" I laughed as she kept going. "Sure, Lu! That all sounds great!"

I kept eating as we discussed our plans. At one point, Natsu tried to invite himself along, but Lucy put a stop to that pretty quick. "Geez, you idiot. They want to have girl time, you don't want to be around for that." Gray chipped in. "Who're you calling an idiot, Ice Princess?!" Natsu yelled as he stepped up on the table. Lucy groaned, and I just sat back a bit with what was left of my food. "You, Flame Brain!" And there went Gray's shirt.

"Lu-chan, will you take my dishes to Mira? I'm going to go back to my apartment really quick before we go, okay? I'll come back soon!" I ran off as she scrambled away from the table. I saw her dive behind the bar as our table went flying, and noticed that Gajeel wasn't sitting there anymore. _Weird, normally you can hear him thudding around, but I never heard him leave._ I chuckled at Natsu and Gray as I jogged out the door.

I directed my run towards the girls dorm, smiling and reveling in the beautiful weather. I found I could keep pace for longer, now that I was more active every day. I thought I heard someone behind me, and slowed to a walk so I was ready when I felt the hand on my shoulder. Instead of screaming or freaking out, the little training from this week kicked in and I reached up and grabbed the hand, leaning forward to use my momentum to pull my assailant over my head.

As I followed through and watched him fly over me to land flat on his back, my brain caught up with muscle memory and realized I knew the hand. Gajeel was laid out in front of me, looking up with approval. I blushed a little, then let go of his arm so he could get up. I was also politely ignoring the fact that he was trying to catch the breath that had been knocked out of him. "Sorry. You startled me." I said.

"Nah, it's alright. It wasn't what I'd meant to do, but it's nice to see the trainin' pay off." He brushed off his pants, and I caught my hands before I brushed off the back of his shirt. Ever since I'd seen him working out that first day I would find myself wondering what it would feel like to trace those muscles. He turned to face me and I let my hands drop. "What was up with that back in the hall?" He asked bluntly.

"Oh! Well, I figured it would be good to start gradually talking to you in front of other people, so if I ever slipped up and said something to you, or anyone ever sees us talking outside of the guild, they wouldn't start asking questions... I'm sorry, I should have probably warned you before I did it." I looked at my feet, mentally kicking myself. After just a moment I heard him grunt. "Pretty smart, little nerd. I hadn't even thought of that. I guess it worked out. A few weeks ago I'd have been pretty surprised by you talkin' to me at all, so the surprise I showed today woulda tracked with that. I still won't approach ya, probably. I can't see any of yer friends bein' chill about that yet." I nodded, looking up at him.

"Yeah. That makes sense. I'm sure you heard, but I'm not going to be there tonight, okay? I need a little break." I knew he wasn't some kind of drill sergeant, to force me to work out every day. But, he did encourage it. "No big deal. I'll keep at the kids, but it's fine for ya to go do yer girly stuff with the bunny girl. The other shrimps will be glad to catch a break from schoolin'." I glared at him for Lucy's nickname, but he just laughed his signature "Gihi."

"Well, I've got to get going, but give Sam a hug for me, okay?" I laughed then, at the face he was making. "Oh come on! Sam hugs you all the time anyway! It's not like I told you to hug Fitz..." I was still laughing when I got to the dorm. Glancing out my window, I saw him still standing there, staring at the building. I waved and saw him look towards the movement. He grinned at me and gave me a little half-wave before finally leaving. Gathering my wallet and a satchel, I ran back down to the guild to meet Lucy.

* * *

 _Ah, that's her room then._ I'd been wondering how I would get information to her if I was ever changing things up with the bastards, but she'd just solved that problem twice. First off by talking to me at the hall, and second by showing me where she lived. I could have probably figured it out, but I didn't want someone to catch me climbing all over the building looking in the rooms. _No telling who I'd see, either._ I shuddered, imagining a scarlet haired woman catching me looking through her window and killing me.

As I walked towards my home, I found myself sulking a little about the fact that the tiny woman wasn't joining me tonight. It made sense, and I was surprised she'd made it this long without taking a break, but I was still bummed. When I got home, I flopped onto my bed and stretched out with my hands behind my head.

 _She should have a night off. Why am I being such a sissy about not seeing her for one night?_ There was a certain possessiveness fighting to the surface of my thoughts. _What the hell is that about? Ain't like she's mine at all. Tch._ I rolled onto my stomach, face buried in a pillow. _She could be..._ A small voice in the back of my head said. I snarled and threw the pillow, pushing myself up. "Right. Like she could ever care about me. Or deserve to be stuck with such a monster." With those words, my thoughts drifted to the story she'd read that first day. I shook my head. That was a stupid children's story. Real life doesn't work that way.

I glanced at the clock and saw that I'd been brooding longer than I'd thought, and it was almost time to go see my brats. _Huh. When did they become mine?_ I hadn't realized I'd claimed them as mine in any way, but I guess I had in my head. They were my little gang of bastards, to train and protect. With a grunt, I grabbed a bag of jewel and left. I made an impulse stop in a certain bookstore moments before it closed, then stopped to grab some food for the little buggers on my way. Who knew if they'd eaten?


	15. Friends

"So where have you been lately, Levy-chan? It seems like you're gone all the time, but Jet and Droy have been hanging out around the hall." Lucy giggled a little. "They look like lost puppies sometimes." _Great._ I sighed. "I'm so sorry Lu-chan. I'm such a terrible friend. I've been ignoring everyone because of a new set of books I've been reading." I was telling the truth, but it still felt like lying. I WAS reading a new set of books. I'd never really read teaching books before.

We were currently sitting in the baths at Fairy Hills after our excursion to the bookstore. My muscles were too sore for me to do much else at the moment. I'd told Lucy that I'd been rearranging the bookshelves in my room again, to explain for the stiffness. "Why didn't you say something? I'd have come to help you! And brought Erza! She could probably move the shelves without having to unload all of the books." We laughed then, picturing our scarlet haired friend moving everything without breaking a sweat. "I just, I don't know. It was something I needed to do for myself, Lu-chan. Mostly the shelves ended up back where they'd started anyway, so that wouldn't have been fair to anyone helping me. And it's good for me to not be such a wimp all the time."

I looked up to see Lucy looking at me with concern in her face. "Levy-chan, what's going on? You've been down lately. And when you ARE around, you're exhausted all the time. I know it's not just from moving the bookshelves." I just shook my head, mentally kicking myself again for being such a bad friend. I took a deep breath and smiled brightly at my blonde friend. "Nothing, Lu. Don't worry about it. Shall we finish up and go have Cancer fix our hair? I'm ready for that pedicure!"

Lucy continued to stare at me for a few seconds, then smiled back. "Sure! Let's go!" We both toweled off and got dressed, then headed to my room. I hooked my arm through Lucy's and we started skipping like a couple of children. _That soak did wonders for my muscles. I'll have to remember to do that more often._ We got to my door, giggling uncontrollably, and I opened it. "Go ahead and call him, I'm just going to grab something out of my room really quick." I went into my dark room to grab a book Lucy and I had been talking about. I knew exactly where it is, so I didn't even turn the lights on.

As I crossed the room, I felt like something was off. I adjusted my course and grabbed the baseball bat that leaned against the wall next to my bed instead. I took a stance ready to swing and looked slowly around my room to figure out what had triggered this paranoia. I noticed my window open, and thought to myself, _I'm pretty sure I haven't opened that all day..._

As I continued to sweep my room with my gaze, my eyes adjusted to the low light. I could tell no one was in my room, but the bed I was standing next to seemed to have something on it. Still holding the bat ready, I reached one hand over and hit my light switch. As soon as the lights came on I felt dumb, getting worked up for nothing. I sat the bat against my wall again and went to close the window before turning back to the bundle on my bed.

In the middle of the tiny bed was a package, plain brown paper, tied with twine. I could tell from the shape that it was a large book, but who... I reached a hand towards it, but decided against unwrapping it. _I'm already ignoring my friends enough. If I open that now, Lucy won't be able to get my attention again tonight._ I turned and grabbed the book I'd initially came in for and left the room, turning my light off as I went.

The rest of the night the package on my bed lingered in the back of my mind. I felt more and more like my old self as the night went on, and Lucy stopped asking if I was okay by the time we'd gotten our hair done. Cancer put gentle waves in my hair and pinned my bangs back with clips before he told me my hair was "awesome, baby", took a bow and disappeared. Lucy and I laughed about that as we left, arms linked again. Even though it was dark out, with my new defense skills and Lucy's whip on her belt, we walked down the street without any fear. Of course, she didn't know anything about my skills, but the salon we were going to wasn't all that far from Fairy Hills anyway.

We laughed and talked about books and boys while we got our feet done. Lucy told the girl doing my toes that I was super ticklish, so I spent five minutes convulsing with laughter as my foot was trapped and tickled. As revenge I started teasing her, "So, Lu-chan, have you kissed Natsu yet?" Her face was instantly a beet red, "What?! Why would I do that?!" The girls giving us pedicures perked their ears up. One of them squealed, "Natsu? You mean Fairy Tail's Salamander? He's so hot!"

The other girl rolled her eyes, "He may be cute, but I hear he's always destroying things! Wait, you two are with Fairy Tail, right? Is Gray really so cold all the time?" Lucy and I looked at each other and laughed at them calling Natsu and Gray hot and cold. "Not really," I told them. "He's just quiet, and not very good at expressing himself." Lucy and I lapsed into a conversation about the books we'd bought earlier. Well, Lucy bought one. I bought six. Not that I had room for them. When our pedicures were done we left, and started walking back to Fairy Hills.

"Did you want to stay over, Lu-chan? So you don't have to walk all the way home this late?" I really did want to stop being such a terrible friend. Lucy walked with her hands clasped behind her, bouncing a little with each step she took. "No, I'll be fine. Thank you though." She smiled, and the light from a store window we were walking past illuminated a blush crossing her cheeks. "I'd better get home and kick Natsu and Happy out before they destroy the place." I kept my laugh to myself. The girl was hilariously trying to deny that there was anything between her and our hotheaded friend, but most of the rest of the guild knew better.

"Okay, will you send me a message when you're home safe?" I'd figured out a way to enchant a couple of notebooks so we could write messages to each other. If I wrote in mine, the words would show up in hers, and the Fairy Tail emblem on the cover would glow a pale blue. If she wrote in hers it would show in mine, but my emblem glowed a soft yellow. I could enchant them for more than just the two of us, and probably would someday, but it was a new thing we were trying and I wanted to keep it something special for Lucy and I. She's my best friend, after all.

"For sure, Levy-chan!" We stopped outside the door of Fairy Hills and hugged good night, then I watched her for as long as I could see her. I wasn't too worried, her "Lucy kick" worked pretty well against Natsu, so average thugs wouldn't stand a chance. Plus, there weren't any bad neighborhoods between her home and mine. I turned to go inside and realized I had nothing stopping me from tearing that book open tonight, so I raced up the stairs. I wasn't even tired, really, since I was up later than this most nights lately anyway. I took more time than I wanted to making sure I wasn't too loud shutting doors. Just because I didn't want to sleep, it didn't mean Laki and Juvia didn't want to. And Erza... she's really not one I like to disturb.

Finally making it into my room, I dropped my purse on the floor and kicked off my shoes before hopping onto the bed. I reached out tentative hands, turning the huge book over carefully to see if there was a card or any writing to tell me who the gift was from. Finding nothing, I shrugged and pulled the twine apart and let the paper fall off the book. My jaw fell with the paper, and I stared at the tome in my hands.

This book was an old, I mean, really old book I'd been drooling over for months! Every time I was in the bookstore I would skim a page or two before immersing myself in other books. The price tag on it was almost as high as my rent though, so I'd never been able to buy it! Maybe if I'd held off on buying any other books. For two years. Maybe. But now I didn't have too! I searched again for a tag to tell me who to thank for this marvel, but there was still nothing.

I wiped my hands on my skirt to make sure there was nothing on them that would ruin the ancient pages. Grabbing my glasses, a pen, and a notebook, I settled in to start translating the book. It was in at least four different languages, and I hadn't ever been able to decipher more than a line or two before. I didn't even know what the book contained, which was new for me; I just knew I needed to read it.

As I got into the first few chapters, I smiled at my luck. _This book is full of different types of magics!_ Even I know that most people cannot learn magic from a book, but maybe this would help me figure out some techniques to teach the kids different basics. Even if it didn't, it would be fascinating to read. I looked up finally at my clock and realized it'd been over four hours. I whipped my head to look at the notebook on the shelf over the head of my bed and saw a faint yellow emanating from it. I smiled and leaned up to grab the book, rocking to my knees and stretching out all the way. I sat back on my feet, legs crossed, and dropped the notebook in my lap.

~I'm home and safe, and had my bed pre-warmed by a certain pink haired trespasser! Smh! That dumb cat left hair everywhere too, I'll have to clean that up tomorrow!~

~Did you see my earlier message? Don't want you worrying about me, and I know this new spell doesn't always come through right away.~

~I'm pretty sure you're probably curled up in bed reading, aren't you? I know that's what I'm doing right now! :) ~

~okay, Levy-chan, you were totally right, this book is amazing! But I really have to sleep. So I'm going to close it, and hate you for giving this to me so late in the day that I couldn't finish it. J/k, hope you get some sleep and don't read all night! Ily!~

I laughed after reading all of the messages from Lucy. I grabbed my pen and wrote back,

~Lu-chan, you know me so well. As soon as you were out of sight I was on my bed reading. Sorry I didn't answer right away, hope you're sleeping well! Talk to you tomorrow... I mean, later today! Ily2!~

I sighed and put all of my books down, standing up and stretching. I clasped my hands together and pushed them up over my head until I heard a satisfying pop. It felt so good, I decided to do some of the stretches Gajeel had taught us, even if I hadn't used any of my muscles. _Hmm, I wonder if... No, I'm sure he didn't bring me the book. Why would he? There's no way he'd spend that kind of money on me._

I pulled the sundress I'd been wearing off and grabbed my pajamas, my favorite long loose pants and snug tank top. Before I pulled them on, I stretched my arms up again, then leaned to one side, holding for ten seconds before straightening up. Then I leaned to the other side for another ten seconds. Finally, I bent forward, stretching my arms out and then down, placing my hands flat in front of my feet. _My flexibility has improved a bit too!_

Standing up straight again, I pulled my pajamas on, then moved my pile of books off the bed and onto my desk. I turned the light off and collapsed on my bed, dreams claiming me in a matter of seconds.


	16. Testing Shadows

I felt eyes on me about four blocks from the warehouse. Bags of food in my hands prevented me from being able to block any attacks very well, so I looked around for somewhere to set it down. I'd rather not waste this stuff if I could help it. There wasn't anywhere handy, so I kept walking. I refused to pick up my pace, feeling like that would make me seem afraid, which I wasn't.

I rounded a corner that led away from the warehouse and the feeling faded. At the next cross street I started working my way back. This time when it felt as if I was being watched, I stopped. I made a shelf out of a piece of iron I had in my pocket and attached it to a wall to place the bags on. I took a deep breath as I did, and couldn't smell anyone nearby. _That's strange. Why wouldn't there be a scent? Unless..._ I glanced around and saw what I was looking for, and turned back to the food with a grin.

I only had to wait a moment before I heard the scuff of a foot and caught his scent. I spun at the last second, grabbing hold of his upraised fist, and swinging my attacker into the wall. His breath escaped him in a gasp, and he gaped up at me with such surprise on his face that I struggled not to laugh. I squatted in front of him and raised an eyebrow, "Well, Ryos, what did ya learn?"

"Don't try to sneak attack you." He panted out, pushing himself upright. I nodded at his response. "And?" The small boy looked up at me, and I noticed the nasty glare he used to have whenever he saw me was gone. Replaced by something, was that respect? "I don't know?"

I offered him a hand and stood, pulling him up with me. "Well, fer starters, ya need to work on walkin' silently. Yer shadow was smack in the middle of a square of sunlight, with nothin' around that could have made it. Someone less aware than me mighta missed it, but prolly not. Reminds me, 'nother lesson, know yer opponent." Ryos looked thoughtful as I mentioned all these things, and glanced at me sharply. "Well, I did manage to track your route, even though you change it regularly.

I chuckled at the pride in his voice. "Ya did. And it woulda worked if not fer the things I pointed out. One more point, keep in mind yer shadows can work as an attack too. Coulda pulled me into a shadow from below an' left me stuck in the ground." I handed him one of the bags of food and made the shelf pocket sized again. As we began walking, Ryos sank into thought, and I left him to it, my own thoughts wandering back to a tiny woman and the book in my bag. _How am I gonna give this to her?_

We continued in silence until we reached the warehouse, and Ryos ran inside to round up the others. I clunked to the table and had started spreading out the food when I felt little arms wrap around my waist. "Gajeel!" Sam squealed as she hugged me. "Hey, girlie." I glanced at the boy lurking across the table from me. "James? What is it?" He jumped a little and stepped forward.

"Um, nothing. Just... Where's Levy?" The boy had a connection with the tiny woman, loving to read almost as much as she did. He'd actually decided to learn script magic, as well. I shook my head, "Not going to be here today, kid." Sam stepped around me to grab some grapes off the table. "She okay?" She asked, popping one in her mouth.

Sam seemed to be unconcerned, but I could see her watching James, and I could smell his anxiety. "Yeah, she's fine. Just not here." The small, navy haired boy took a deep breath and smiled. "That's okay. I just learned a new word and wanted to show her. Now I just have more time to perfect it!" I nodded and held up a hand so the other brats filtering into the room wouldn't get to the food.

"No eatin' before trainin'. Ya know the drill." With a groan, they all went to the training corner of the big room and began stretching. I worked them through their exercises, not really in the mood to teach them anything new. Without the shrimp here, I found my attention wandering. "Umm, Gajeel?" I forced my attention back to the kids in front of me and found Steven, a little slip of a boy, staring at me. "Yeah? Whatdya want?"

He flushed and looked down, "Well... I was wonderin' if we're gonna pratice magic at all? I think... I think I wanna show ya mine finally." This kid had been waffling about showing his magic to us for some reason. It wasn't a big deal, we had a few who hadn't figured out their magic yet and had just been spending their training time meditating to help build their actual power level. I raised an eyebrow and just watched him, waiting for his decision. "Uh, I... Uhm... Yeah! I wanna show ya m'magic!" I nodded at him and looked around at the other kids.

"We'll work magic tomorrow, when Shrimp is here ta work out some of yer finer points. Yer all gettin' strong enough, I don't want ya workin' magic without us both here." I grinned at the groans that pulled from several of them. I remember being excited to work my magic when I was first learning it. I glanced down at my arm, easily finding a few scars. Holding my arm out so they could see it, I told them, "Look here. See this scar? And this one? These happened when I tried to practice by myself before I was ready. I snuck away from my dad, which was hard enough, tryin' to impress him. I used my magic, and caught myself off guard. Several blades caught themselves here," I pointed to the scars again, "and I'd have died if he hadn't heard me." I chuckled at the memory. "I'd thought I was so clever..."

Shaking my head I looked back at them. "So, no magic unless we're here. Even if you don't have a dangerous magic. Understood?" I leveled my best glare at them until they all nodded. "Good. Stretch out and go eat." I glanced at the clock and decided I wasn't going to stick around today. I flagged down Fitz and gestured at the door with my head, giving him a half wave. He nodded at me and went back to making sure the kids were splitting the food evenly. I snatched my bag and left, almost running in my excitement. _I'll leave the book on her bed. Then, I don't have to come up with a reason to be giving it to her._

I reached Fairy Hills and climbed the building carefully with spikes that I made emerge from my hands and feet. Her room was dark, so I slid her window open and listened carefully. _No breathing. Must still be out with Bunny girl._ I slipped inside and dug the book out, placing it in the middle of her bed. I listened again, and realized I could hear her in the building, and it sounded like she was getting closer. I took a deep breath, inhaling her scent, and leapt through the window, landing outside with a thump.

Finding a tree nearby, I scaled it quickly, and glanced at her window just as the light came on. I saw her, tiny little woman, standing with a bat in her hand, looking around the room. _Gihihi, good. She noticed something off._ Even from my vantage point, I could see her hesitate by the book, wanting to pick it up. Finally, she shook her head and grabbed a different book, leaving her bat against the wall, and left the room. I grinned to myself and dropped out of the tree, heading for home.


	17. All's Fair

"Good! Again!" I smiled a little at Gajeel's praise as I stood and offered my hand to Fitz, pulling him up from the floor. I took a ready stance, wrapped fists guarding my face, bouncing a little on my bare feet. As usual, right before Fitz attempted his attack, I saw him glance down at my hands, his eyes widening. _You always telegraph your movements, Fitz!_

I blocked his strike and returned a jab of my own, though it didn't connect well. I saw him drop his right arm a little, and I jabbed again, this time hitting his defenses and making him take a small step back. I took advantage of the space and hopped forward on my rear leg, throwing my left out in a front kick. It hit him square on his thigh, making him fall. _Sorry!_ He'd be okay, our little healer was coming along nicely with her magic, and it probably wouldn't be more than a good bruise anyway. As fast as he fell I was on him, using my tiny body to pin his chest, raining blows down on the arm he raised to block his face.

I felt him grab my arm and braced myself, tucking my head so I wouldn't hit it on the floor as he flipped us over. Wrapping my legs around him as he tried to back up, I pulled him closer and hit him again. I was getting pretty good at this, actually. He tried to back out of the grip I had so he could pin me and return blows, but I slipped one of my legs up over his shoulder and locked it around his neck. I couldn't hold this for long, we'd been sparring for a while now and I was tired, but I didn't need to. Within seconds he tapped out, and I released him, both of us flopping on the mat to catch our breath.

I heard a thump and glanced over to see Sam sitting next to her brother, looking him over with a grin on her face. "You got beat." She giggled at him. "Shut up, Sam!" Fitz threw an arm over his eyes and groaned at the teasing he knew was going to come. "You got beat TWICE. BY A GIRL!" I was grateful she didn't specify that it was a big deal that he got beat by me, although I knew it was. Fitz teased me for being tiny all the time. A lot of the boys did, actually, since Gajeel called me Shrimp all the time.

"Gihi. Yeah. Ya did good, Shorty." Speak of the devil... I glared up at him and he laughed, squatting to hand me a bottle of water. "Got another round in ya?" Gajeel asked. I looked around to see which of the kids was warming up, but they were all still kneeling on the sidelines, watching us.

"Who?" He chuckled again and stood, pulling me up with him. As he pulled his hand away, I realized he had his hands wrapped and his gloves sitting nearby. _Gajeel doesn't ever spar with us!_ I felt my eyes widening and tried to find a way to back out without him thinking I was scared. Something must have tipped him off though, because he looked back over his shoulder at me and raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, ya know I won't hurt ya. I just want to see how ya do against someone bigger than ya." I scoffed at that and squeaked, "Fitz IS bigger than me!" This just earned me another chuckle as Gajeel pulled his gloves on. "Fitz, go cool down and stretch out." He called to the boy, who was scampering off the mat as fast as he could.

I felt my muscles getting stiff just standing there, so I started walking back and forth. "Fine! I guess we'll see how I do against a giant... You have fun explaining to Master Makarov how I died, okay?" He turned to face me. "Gihi. Yeah, yeah, Shrimp. I'll do that." Pulling his arms up and bouncing on his feet, he watched me. It really wasn't fair how distracting and muscular his arms were. I bounced a little too, assessing him. His black shirt clung to his stomach, and his intense red eyes were watching me. He'd removed all of his piercings at some point, so those wouldn't be a weakness I could use against him.

"Remember, Shrimp. Anythin' ya can to disarm or distract and gain advantage. All's fair. C'mon, ya won't hurt me." I grinned at that. "I know that, silly man." I replied, pulling my hands up. I bounced forward a few steps, careful to stay on the balls of my feet. Gajeel waited for me to make the first move, so I did, throwing a jab then a cross in quick succession. He simply blocked, letting me get the feel of hitting him after fighting Fitz, who was a bit shorter.

We found a good rhythm, striking and blocking. Me using everything I had, Gajeel just dancing around. He wasn't being patronizing or anything about it though, which I appreciated. I felt myself getting tired though, and dropping my guard a little. He saw it too, and struck at the hole in my defense. I lurched backwards, causing him to miss, but also leaving myself off balance.

I saw him duck down, I felt impact against the back of my legs, and I hit the mat. I thought for a second that he'd leave it at that, but no, in a flash he was astride my torso, his strong hands pinning my weak arms to the floor. I could have conceded then, but I was irritated and determined not to lose. He brought his face right in front of mine, a smug grin lighting up his eyes. _They're so beautiful this close!_ I could feel a flush creeping into my cheeks as I glanced at his grin and caught myself wondering what his lips felt like.

"Make yer move, Shrimp." He rumbled at me. I could feel his words rumble in his chest too, since he was pinning me so closely. Suddenly, I had an idea. I grinned wickedly and saw a little bit of his smugness fade. I made as if to move my hands, and when I saw his attention shift I popped my head up and kissed him. Right there, in front of everyone. I kissed his lips, and he froze in surprise, his eyes locked on mine.

I took advantage of his distraction and made my move. I planted my feet and bucked my hips as hard as I could, slipping my arms out of his grip and grasping his shirt. I was amazed by how easily I flipped us, but he was still just staring at me. "So, I win?" I asked, and then jumped up and turned away. I saw a few of the kids smothering giggles and smiled at them, before walking off the mat.

I was really proud of myself, actually. He'd taught me that move, and Fitz had just used it against me, but I hadn't been able to do it very well yet. I was extremely happy that it had worked, although I was guessing it only had because he'd been so shocked. I kept walking towards the showers to clean off, planning to head back out and help him with the kids' magic practice.

Slipping through the door to the washroom where no one could see me, I leaned against the wall and brought a hand to my lips. They still tingled, and even now I could feel his soft lips against my own. It had been so quick, and probably meant nothing to him. But it had almost caught me off guard as much as him, the way it had sent a shock through my system. _I could get used to that feeling..._ I jumped at the thought and shook myself, feeling silly. _Right. That'll happen._ Rolling my eyes at my own foolishness, I quickly rinsed off and changed clothes before heading back out to watch the kids.

Gajeel had them sparring in teams and was standing to the side with his arms crossed over her chest. If I didn't know better, I might have thought he was angry. I couldn't quite bring myself to meet his eyes, so I turned to watch the kids. I could feel the weight of his focus on me, but I didn't let my gaze get pulled to him again. If I did look at him, I would probably blush. And then, he would know. He would know that it hadn't simply been a diversion. Not to me. And then he would laugh at me, and this would be over.

I hadn't realized until that moment how much this time meant to me. How much HE meant to me. I think messing it up scared me more anything had in my life. _Oh no... This can't possibly end well._


	18. Sparks and Flames

_Gihi. She's tired... Leavin' herself wide open._ I struck at the hole in her defenses, but even as tired as she was, Shrimp was fast. She lurched backwards, preventing connection with my gloved fists. It left her off balance though. Quick as a thought, I dropped and spun, knocking her feet out from under her.

I knew she had to be struggling for breath, but I wasn't going to give it to her easily. In a flash I was astride her tiny torso, pinning her shapely arms to the floor. I firmly focused my attention on making sure I didn't hurt her, and not on the little strip of skin I could see between her tight grey tank top and those ridiculously bright orange shorts. It wasn't hard to keep my weight off of her, but it was a challenge to keep my mind off the warmth I could feel where I touched her.

I brought my face directly in front of hers, a smug grin creeping across my face. _Her eyes... Damn... So beautiful._ Those hazel eyes stared up at me, determination and rage simmering just under the surface.

"Make yer move, Shrimp." I growled at her, running through possible escapes in my head to decide which she was mostly likely to use. Levy grinned wickedly and my confidence slipped a little. She was smart enough to have figured something out. She made a play to free her hands, and I shifted my attention to making sure my grip wasn't going to hurt her as she struggled. Just as I glanced to my hands, her head came up and I felt her lips on mine. I froze, locking my gaze onto hers.

 _What the..._ Before my stupid brain could catch up enough with what had happened for me to kiss her back, I felt her shifting underneath me. I threw myself with the push from her hips, making sure I landed next to her, and not on top of her. Her deceptively strong hands snatched the front of my shirt, pulling her over me.

Still, all I could do was stare at her. Shrimp just sat there for a second, staring at me. "So, I win?" She asked, and then jumped up and turned away. I saw a few of the kids smothering giggles and smiles as she walked off the mat.

I stayed there for another moment, trying to force my thoughts to...anything other than her lips. Her scent had already been driving me mad, but then her touch, the electricity coursing through me. I heard another snicker off to the side and snapped my attention back to the task at hand. I sat up and rose to my feet, glaring around at the kids.

"That obviously ain't a tactic I would say to use against an attacker. It MIGHT work for ya. But I doubt it." I was really proud of the shrimp, actually. She didn't hesitate to use the strengths she had. If she hadn't disarmed me so thoroughly with that... sneak attack... she probably wouldn't have been able to break free. I glanced at the door to the showers, wondering if she was going to help me with the kids' magic practice or not.

"Alrigh'. Get in yer teams." I walked around the mat as the bastards paired off and made corrections to their stances. They were minor corrections, these kids being quick studies. Finally, the pairs were set up to my liking and I stood off the mat, watching. This wasn't very aggressive. With them all on the mat, they were only taking turns performing strikes and blocking. My ears perked up at the sound of the door closing, but I forced myself to stay still. Whipping around to stare at her would only frighten the tiny woman.

 _God she's beautiful._ Her azure hair was down around her shoulders now, swaying as she walked up to the mat again. She smiled at one of the children, her gaze shifting around the room as she walked. Levy wouldn't meet my eyes, but it didn't feel like she was avoiding me. She just looked around, watching the kids. I watched her, resisting the urge to grab her and drag her outside. I couldn't tell if the urge was to talk to her or kiss her again. Maybe both.

 _Well shit, Gajeel. Ya got yerself in deep now..._

"Good. Enough. Stretch and do what ya need to get ready fer magic." With excited yells, the brats scattered. Shrimp finally looked at me, walking over. "You know... We could use some help with some of these kids. I could get Nats-"

"No!" I didn't mean to snap so loud, but I didn't want anyone, especially Salamander here. I hated that she shrank away from me, and sighed, forcing myself to relax. "I'm sorry Shorty, I jus' don't want anyone else involved." She looked away from me as she answered, "I know. I don't understand it, but I know. Our guild is like a family, Gajeel. No one would do anything to hurt these kids. Some day, I hope you understand that."

I didn't really have a response for that, so I just folded my arms and turned to look at the brats who were returning. _I know YOU trust 'em Shrimp. And I'm gettin' there. But, these are my brats. I'm not riskin' yer guildmates thinkin' they know what's best and takin' the kids away from each other._

"Miss Levy! Miss Levy!" Little Steven came running up, his eyes bright. "Lookit!" He slid to a stop in front of her and closed his eyes, scrunching his nose in concentration. Suddenly, he opened his eyes and said, "First Light!" A glow started in his chest, emitting a soft light into the room. Levy clapped happily, "Oh, Steven, that's wonderful!" The boy dispelled his magic, but was still glowing with pride at his mentor's approval.

"Look Miss! I learned a new one too!" Not to be outdone by his friend, James popped up, his blue hair damp from a hurried shower. He lifted up a light pen Shrimp had given him and started writing in the air. "Solid Script: Flowers!" The word appeared, falling into her outstretched hands. It was barely bigger than my own hand, the kid not having much power yet, but he was still extremely happy with himself.

Shrimp pulled both boys into a hug, carefully cradling her flowers. "Boys! I'm so proud of you both!" They blushed, the little bastards hugging her back. I looked away, an inaudible growl rumbling in the back of my throat. I glared around at the other brats, fighting down the sudden territorial rage in the back of my mind. _Get yer head right, idiot. She just did that to distract ya. She ain't yers. She don't want ya._ "Alrigh', ya know yer drills, get to 'em!" I barked out, and the magic began.

We hadn't been working very long when I heard a yell and smelled burnt hair. Our little firestarter, Kasai, had gotten too close to his partner, Saki, and her shirt had caught. I had taken only two steps when a deep blue...something flew past my head. Just before it collided with the fire, I saw the letters W and A. I whipped my head to see the shrimp standing barely three feet away from me, two fingers raised in the air, her eyes wide. I looked back at the kids and saw that Kasai and Saki were drenched and giggling, adrenaline kicking in.

With a grunt I looked them over for burns. "This is why I said no magic without us, yeah?" They both nodded, wide eyed, trying to choke back their giggles. I patted Kasai on the head roughly, "Now, Pyro, do it right."

"Wha?!" I glared at him and folded my arms, not offering any other explanation. "Al-alrigh', " he stammered out, putting the heels of his hands together, one open and pointing down and the other with just two fingers sticking up. A magic circle appeared in front of his hands, and he cupped them, a small flame appearing. He stared at it in concentration and Saki held up a bucket of water, ready to douse the flames if he lost control again. She'd had it before too, but had been too shocked to do anything with it.

Kasai poured power into the flame, watching it flicker and grow. "Good. Now put it out." I barked at him after he'd held the spark for a few minutes and he closed his hands together, snuffing out the fire. "Cool! If'n I coul' et flame like tha' Salamander'd be better though." I could almost hear the shrimp cringing at the boy's speech, but she didn't correct him. With a grunt, I turned away and checked the other bastards.

Sam was teleporting around the room, hiding in different spots, her partner trying to find her. She was trying to get to where she could land in smaller spaces, without being afraid of appearing inside a wall or something. Her partner was a boy with Telepathy magic. He was learning focus, sitting blindfolded and finding just her thoughts out of all of them floating around, and following them to her location. Shrimp had a huge talk with him about the ethics behind reading thoughts a few lessons ago; you shouldn't read thoughts without permission unless you're in danger, never dig for information, just skim surface thoughts, that sort of thing. Apparently, her research had told her that telepaths could feel a "mind presence" and know who it was, kind of like my sense of smell. Rat seemed to be doing well with that part.

The rest of the practice was uneventful, the brats all making a lot of progress. One or two of the youngest started to flag, looking like they were going to pass out. I knew they wouldn't admit it while their friends were still going, so I called a halt. "Alrigh', enough for the day. Listen up. I'm gonna be gone a few days, so no magic. Shrimp may come do letters an' figurin' with ya, but that's up to her. Go rest." With a sigh of relief, several collapsed where they stood, although a few scuttled away to their rooms first.

I headed towards the door and heard her fall into step behind me. Focusing on my steps instead of hers, I fought back the urge to scoop her into my arms and kiss her. Clearing my throat, I picked a safe subject instead, "That was quick movin', Shrimp. Good job." She giggled behind me and my heart stopped for a second. "Well, Gajeel, I have been using my magic for a long time now. And I am experienced at dealing with an explosive fire mage. I'd certainly hope I'd be quick at putting out fires by now."

"Oh. Right. Salamander sure does start a lot of fires." We lapsed into silence as we walked. I started to get uneasy, when I realized she had stopped walking. I turned to see her staring at her feet, her face turning red. "Shrimp?" I stepped back to her, bending a little to meet her eyes. "Oii! What's the matter?"

"N-nothing is the matter, Gajeel. Only..." Her beautiful eyes flicked up, and then her lips were meeting mine. I didn't freeze this time. The exact opposite. A fire started in my gut, spreading up into my chest and down my arms. I slipped an arm around her waist, stumbling back against the wall and pulling her with me. She gasped and pulled back when I collided with the wall.

We stood for a moment, panting for breath. I searched Levy's face carefully, trying to figure out what was going through her brilliant mind. I raked my gaze over her flushed cheeks, and settled on her sweet smile before pulling her to me again. She slid her arms around my neck, tangling her fingers into my hair. _Damn. She tastes like strawberries._


	19. Learning Experience

_"N-nothing is the matter, Gajeel. Only..." His face was so close to mine, I could feel his breath on my cheek. I had been planning to talk to him, but then my lips were crashing into his. I felt the iron hard muscles of his arm around my waist as he staggered back from my newest assault. I felt a jolt as he hit the wall behind him, and I broke off our kiss, gasping._

 _My heart was racing, and I was sure my cheeks were on fire. His eyes were studying my face, like he was seeing me for the first time. I saw them reach my lips and then we were kissing again. I couldn't stop my hands from sliding up his chest, over his broad shoulders, and tangling into his hair. I pressed my body against him, electricity coursing through me._

"Miss Levy!" I was jolted out of my thoughts by a skinny set of arms wrapping around my waist. Glancing down, I saw a blue head of hair tucked against me. "Hello, James! How are you today?"

"I'm good, Miss! We didn't think you were coming!" Gajeel had been gone for three days of his week long mission, and this had been my first time back to see the kids. "Well, James, I have been setting something up. A little training session, we'll call it." He left go of me and stepped back. "Training? But Gajeel isn't here? Oh! Reading?!" Laughing, I walked further into the warehouse. "Well, there's reading involved, yes. Why don't you gather the others and I'll tell everyone, hmm?"

As he ran off, I set the stack of papers I carried onto the table. I flipped through them, folding them in half so the kids couldn't read them right away and writing names on the backs. Sam popped up next to me, startling me and sending things flying. "Sam! Goodness!" I scrambled to snatch the pages back, looking up to see her holding one. "Levy, what's this?" I glanced at the paper she had in her hand. "Well, that's a task I have set up for someone to do. Please hand it here and I'll explain in a moment." She looked at me curiously, passing the sheet back to me.

I reassembled my papers as everyone gathered around me, and smiled brightly at them. "Okay! Everyone here? Good! Today, you're going to have training in following orders, and completing jobs for clients. Is anyone here currently being hunted by authorities?" Two tentative hands slipped into the air, and I nodded, smiling. "That's okay. It just means you're going to be staying here with me today. Everyone else, I've picked and set up jobs around town. Now, normally, only a guild wizard can accept these jobs, but I've arranged things so you can complete these tasks." I saw a few alarmed faces and smiled again, "Don't worry, I've made sure they won't know who you are. As far as any of the clients know, you're my cousin, or a friend's child, or a potential new member of Fairy Tail. Many of these people have known me since I was your age, so they trust me."

With that, I started passing out papers, telling them to start reading. I gave them instruction to come to me when they thought they understood their tasks, and I pulled aside the three who were staying with me, setting them problems to work on. "Miss?" James was standing next to me. I glanced at him over my shoulder and waited for him to continue. "My task. I need to go help the bookstore owner by the river? He can't find some old scrolls, is that correct?" I nodded and looked at him expectantly. "Can I go then?"

"Sure. Go ahead." I raised my voice so everyone could hear me and continued. "Don't forget that you can always tell a client if you don't feel qualified, and come back here for help. I'll be here all day." With an offended expression and a sigh, James slipped out, leaving me grinning at his back. _I'll see him again before too long._ The children approached me one or two at a time after that, and before long, they were all gone. I sat on the table reading, and helping Rat and Kasai with their figures. Steven had stayed at my request, so I could work with him on his reading, his dyslexia making that a difficult task. I had a secondary reason for keeping him there as well, but I hadn't told him.

After about an hour, James came thudding through the door. I restrained the giggle that almost burst out of me at the dark expression on his face. "You knew. You knew I wouldn't be able to do that alone." His accusation hung in the air between us for a moment as I finished explaining a problem to Rat. I schooled my features into something serious and looked at the blue haired boy. When I didn't say anything, he sighed and lost the scowl. "Alright, what am I supposed to do then?"

"Sometimes, James, wizards work in teams. So, what kept you from completing your job?" He looked at his feet and took a deep breath, before admitting that he had been tasked with finding scrolls in a dark archive room. The shopkeeper, Daniel, wouldn't allow any flame in the room, for obvious reasons, and his light lacrima had broken. I'd noticed the lacrima's outage when I'd visited the shop two days ago, and spoken with my friend. I asked him to hold off on replacing it so I could test my cousin and his friend on their abilities. Dan's heart for children was only matched by his desire to educate people, so of course he'd leapt at the opportunity.

"I can't hold my Shine for very long, and I knew if I just kept casting it, I would wear myself out." I nodded and he screwed up his face in thought. "So I came back to see if you had an idea on what I could do. But you said teams, which means you probably have someone in mind who could help me." He sulked a little at that last, but I beamed at him happily. I saw Steven go still next to me, trying to pretend he was still reading.

James sighed again, and it was such an exasperated sound that I almost giggled again. "Steven... Will you help me on this job?" With a loud whoop, Steven jumped from his seat. "Miss! Can I?" James groaned as Steven nearly tackled me, causing a laugh to finally escape. "Stick to First Light, okay Steven? Don't try to show off for the client, it never works out well." He nodded and let go of me, running past James for the door. "James." He turned back to look at me. "Because you are handling this so maturely I'm going to tell you. You're needed for more than just your ability to read. You will need your Script magic." He brightened at that and ran after his new partner. _Complete opposites, rivals, and somehow still best friends. Those boys are just like Natsu and Gray..._


	20. Jobs and Tasks

"Excuse me... Sir?" The farmer looked up from the fence he was mending, and cast his eye over the boy standing in front of him. _Scrawny little whip, ain't he?_ Black hair hung over the child's face, hiding one eye. He could see the other staring at the ground, the boy looking like he would rather be anywhere other than where he was. "Yeah? What ya want?"

With a deep breath, he raised his eyes to meet the farmer's. They were a startling crimson, and had a sullen anger lurking in them. He held out a piece of paper to the older man. "I was told you were the contact for this job? You need stealth? The listing isn't very specific." Taking his hat off and rubbing his head, Ryos' potential employer studied him. "An' yer th' one they sent, eh? Well, c'mon then. Les see if'n ya got wha' I need." He turned, placing his wide brimmed hat back on his head, and walked towards the large red barn squatting in the field nearby. Ryos stalked after the man, trying to make as little noise as possible.

When they reached the barn, Ryos stopped, nostrils flaring. _Blood... What?_

* * *

"Well, hey! That looks like it hurt, ya doin' alright?" Sarah jumped, looking up from her book at the young woman in front of her. _Hmm. Maybe child is a more accurate title._ The carrot topped girl twitched around where she was standing, as if being still was outside her ability. Sarah shifted in her seat, careful not to jostle her broken leg. It was propped up on several pillows, and currently had a stick shoved into the cast so she could scratch.

"It certainly wasn't pleasant. I take it you're Levy's friend?" Sarah tucked her book next to her in the chair and shook her dirty blonde hair out of her face. "Well, if Levy sent you, I'm sure you're capable. I know Levy wouldn't have sent someone otherwise. How do you propose to help me?"

 _This lady must be crazy! She trusts me completely, an' so quick! An' gives me the answers that she wants to hear? This is too easy!_ Sam cast an experienced eye around the well appointed room her employer was sitting in. _No threats here. Three exits, four if you count that window._ She noticed Sarah watching her and realized she was waiting for an answer. "Oh! Uh... Well, Lev said you cain't reach somethin'. But, not just on a shelf or some shi-thing." Levy had also drilled into her head that she needed to be respectful to adults. Not just no skulking and hiding, but speaking clear and no swearing. "So, 'm assumin' ya need me to 'port somewhere."

Sarah's eyes widened a little. "Oh! You're a teleporter then? How does your magic work? Do you have to see where you're going? Or do you have to have been there before? What's your range?" The ginger girl took a step back from the onslaught of questions, taking a quick breath. "Uh... Yeah I'm a 'porter. I don't know, an' yeah I gotta see it. Uh, I dunno?"

The older woman laughed, "I'm sorry. I get a little intense sometimes. I was climbing a mountain. Stopped about halfway up for the night, and woke up at the bottom with this broken leg. I need my bag back, but can't get it myself." She gestured at her leg with a bitter grin. "And no one else is crazy enough to try the climb." She stopped talking and pulled the stick out of her cast. Sarah reached for a set of crutches nearby and Sam stepped over to help, offering a hand to pull her from her chair. Sarah smiled and lurched to her feet, grabbing Sam's arm for balance before she shifted her weight to the crutches. "Well, come on then. It's a bit of a hike just to get to the base of the mountain." With that, the blonde hobbled out the door, trailing an amused little girl behind her.

* * *

 _This is stupid. Just because I haven't chosen to learn magic, I have to do errands for this granny..._ The young man grumbled to himself as he unloaded groceries for his employer. "Make sure you put the new ones in the back!" The shaky voice came floating in from the sitting room. "Yes ma'am." Fitz answered, rolling his eyes. _I could steal half of this extra food and she wouldn't even know. Bought these canned goods just because there was a sale, not because she needed them._ But, Levy had gotten him this job, and he wasn't going to blow it. With a sigh, he finished his task and walked to where the granny sat in a large easy chair. As he rounded the corner into her sitting room, Fitz froze, his eyes widening at the tool set on her lap.

"Boy! Git on up der!" With a cuff to his ear, the child was shoved behind the curtain draped over the fireplace. Stripping out of his outer clothes, he snatched his brush and slipped into the chimney. At least this one isn't lit. He had been an apprentice chimney sweep for six years now. He hadn't hit the major growth spurt that took out most boys' ability to fit. That's actually how he'd gotten his name. By fitting into chimneys. How ridiculous was that? Fitz hissed as scabs on his knees opened. He'd gotten those last week, scraping them on a wall when he'd had to slow his fall.

 _I know I'm lucky to actually get paid for this job. Sam don't have to starve because we got this job. And we ain't caught the sickness, so there's that. But, damn it'd be nice to not be hurtin' ev'ry day._ He murmured to himself as he scraped built up soot off the walls. Sam had started working with him just a few weeks, but she was claustrophobic so it was hard. She'd been doing her best, but she was slower and not as efficient. She was working in the parlor chimney, Fitz could hear their master yelling at her.

 _Oh no. She's havin' 'nother panic attack._ Fitz slid out of the chimney he was working in, brushed off as much soot as he could, and raced for the other room to help his sister. He climbed up after her and started to talk her down. "Sam, darlin' I'm here. Is okay, nothin' is gonna get ya." He spoke in a soothing voice, murmuring nonsense to attempt to calm her. Her shaking stopped for a moment, but then it just got worse.

"I jus' want OUT!" When she'd screamed the last, she'd disappeared from above him in the pipe, and only hearing her squeak from below kept him from panicking. He'd pulled his arms and legs in, sliding down quicker than was safe, tumbling out of the chimney in time to see their master slap his baby sister across the face. "Stupid bitch! Now we're set behind! Cuz ya got scared?! There weren't e'en no damn fire!" He swung a hand at her again, but was cut short by Fitz slamming into his side. He stumbled to the side a few steps, and turned to his apprentice, roaring.

"Boy! You won't stop me from punishin' this bitch! I own her! I own you both!" He lunged at the red haired boy, arms outstretched to grab Fitz's throat. The boy ducked away at the last second, falling over. "SAM RUN!" He screamed to his sister as he hit the ground. Fitz felt his master trip over his legs, and heard a sickening, hollow "thunk" as the old man's head smashed into the brick of the fireplace. Fitz scrambled to his feet, clutching Sam's hand as he dragged her from the house. "Wait here!" He left her on the porch and dashed back inside, filching anything useful he found and snatching up their outer clothes.

"F-fitz! How did I do that? What did I do? What's wrong with me?!" Fitz hugged his sister tight to stop her questions, and wiped the tears from her cheek. It only smeared through the soot, though, so he stopped trying. "Shh, little one, shh. We'll figure it out. Soon. For now, we gotta go." He pulled her meager coat over her arms, and started down the street, pulling her along behind him.

They traded their stolen goods for food and shoes and took off for the next city. Their first attempt to steal food had them helped by a boy with black hair, who called up shadows and hid them from the authorities pursuing them. The three of them found the warehouse together and started collecting their family, and their teamwork was how they'd survived for two years now.


	21. Teamwork

"This 's so 'citin, ain't it James?! Levy settin' us up mishuns?" Steven bounced happily along the road, following his blue haired friend. James just nodded, trudging towards the bookstore by the river where Levy had acquired this task. _Can't believe she's forcing me to work with this weirdo. He can't barely even read._ He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and lead his partner into the store. "Hey Dan, I'm back. We're just going to head down, okay?"

The shop owner just waved a hand, continuing to deal with his customers. Steven stopped bouncing and skulked a little beside James before being elbowed in the stomach. "Knock it off!" James hissed at him. "He's a nice guy, and Miss Levy said he was her friend. He's not going to hurt you." James was just a little bit taller than Steven, so he hooked his arm around Steven's neck and dragged him towards the back of the store. There was a steep set of stairs sinking into the floor behind a curtain, and that was their destination.

James paused at the top. "Alright, go ahead and start now. Won't do us any good to fall and break a leg on our very first mission. Miss Levy will never trust us on our own again." Steven nodded solemnly, screwing up his face in concentration and muttering, "First Light!" He kept his focus for a moment before slowly starting to emit a soft light. "Aight, lemme go firs', an' it'll light yer way." He stepped down the stairs, James following in the glow of his friend, watching his step carefully. They made their descent into the cellar, and Steven pushed a little more magic into his Light, brightening the small space.

James looked around. "Okay. Dan said the manuscript is a scroll, and it's on old herbal remedies. It seems as if he's got these things fairly well organized." He trailed off as he walked down the row of old books and scrolls. He squinted at the titles on the old spines, the ink fading a little. "Well, 'e sure keeps this place spiffed!" Steven remarked as he looked around curiously. "I mean, we stole from a lot o' cellars, but I ain't never seen one wi' so lil dust!"

Rolling his eyes, James gestured back at the doorway to the room. "See that shimmer on the door? There's a rune barrier to keep the elements out." He continued walking, reading titles out loud. "Wonders of the World. Complete History of Runes. Basics of Boscan." Steven just gawked at the doorway and looked back at his partner. "Howdya see tha'? I hadda squint ta catch it." James ignored him, moving around the shelves. He stopped and sighed. "Steven. I need you to come over here so I can see."

"Oh! Yeh!"Steven bounded around the corner of the shelves, knocking over a pile of books that were stacked on the floor. "Steven! Be careful!" James lurched for the books, standing the stack back up as if they were sacred. "S-sorry, James." The shorter boy muttered, looking at his feet. The light he was emitting started to dim, and James sighed, standing back up. "Hey, it's fine. Just pay attention, okay?" He went back to reading out the titles on the shelves, ignoring the sniffling of his partner.

"J-James?" He paused in his reading for a moment and glanced over his shoulder. "Yes?" Steven was looking at him strangely. "What is it?" James turned fully to look at Steven curiously. "Wha' ya readin'? Tha's na the language we been learnin'?" He scrunched up his nose in confusion, staring at the books James had just been trailing his fingers across. James turned to look back at the books, "Yes it is? Surely! I only know Fioran!"

"James, I ain't dumb! I know I cain't learn all th' letters, but I kin tell ya tha' ain't Fioran!" James blinked at him a few times before continuing his search. "I'll have to ask Miss Levy about that. Maybe there's something to the Script magic that makes it so I can do this?" He made a mental note to talk to his mentor when they returned to the warehouse.

"Tch! It's not here! Miss Levy said I'd need to use my Script magic too..." James muttered to himself as he looked around. Spotting a few scrolls high on a shelf, he pulled out his light pen. "I wonder... Solid Script: Ladder!" The boy wrote the word carefully in the air, watching it form in front of him. He focused his attention on pouring magic into it, watching it grow until is was long enough to get him where he needed to go. He then grabbed it, turning the word and leaning it against the shelves carefully. He climbed slowly, balancing as he stretched for a stack of manuscripts. "HA! Here it is!"

He pulled it out and handed the scroll down to Steven, who cradled it carefully. James hopped down, dispelling the ladder quickly as he felt it pulling on his energy. He leaned on a shelf for a moment, taking deep breaths to steady himself. "Ya good, mate?" Steven patted his arm and looked around. "We shoul' head out. I'm wearin' thin." James nodded and started for the stairs. Steven passed him the scroll, and the boys headed up to their employer to complete their job.

"Ah! Good job then, boys! You found it! Have any problems?" Dan was standing behind the counter when they emerged, working through his ledger. Steven dispelled his Light before completely leaving the cellar, and lurked behind James as he finished their job. "No sir, no problems at all! The runes keeping your cellar clear are fascinating. Do they have to be renewed often?"

There was a twinkle in the old man's eye as he looked up at James. "They do, actually. I have a standing appointment with a man named Freed, once a year. Do you know him?" James didn't know what exactly Levy had told this man, so he just nodded and changed the subject, handing over the scroll. "Is there anything else you need, sir?"

Dan opened the scroll carefully, glancing across the words inside. "No, boys. This is exactly what I needed. Here's your payment!" He handed James a bag of jewel and watched him expectantly. James opened it and peeked inside, trying frantically to decide if counting it would be rude or good judgement. After a moment he closed it again, tucking it into his pocket. "Thank you, sir, for allowing us to work for you today." He bowed slightly and turned to leave, tugging Steven out the door with him.

When they got outside, they looked at each other and took off running with loud whoops and laughs. Even if the job hadn't been hard in and of itself, doing it on their own had been a fun challenge, and it was exhilarating. People laughed as they raced by, bumping each other and leaping over objects in their path.


	22. Freedom

"So ya like climbin' things?" Sam asked as she hopped along after Sarah. "Well, I did enjoy the climb. But it's more that I like adventure than specifically liking to climb things. I think the fastest it's been recorded that someone climbed this peak is three days. I was trying to make it in two." Sarah moved really well, considering the plaster encasing her leg, but she'd always been a physically fit person.

They'd been walking for close to an hour, Sam occasionally teleporting ahead of her employer and then playing around while she waited. Once, the young girl got distracted chasing a rabbit through a field. Sarah watched for a moment before chuckling and continuing down the road. Sam popped up next to her a few moments later squealing about how fluffy the rodent had been.

"Oh! Is tha' the mount'n?!" Sam bounced on her toes, pointing to a peak in the distance. Sarah laughed at her seemingly boundless energy and nodded. "Almost there!" Sam got a thoughtful look on her face and stopped moving for a moment. "Miss? I can 'port that far. Want me to jump us?"

Sarah blinked in astonishment, meeting Sam's gaze. "Really?! You can?! That won't put too much strain on your magic?" The young girl's face lit up, determination and a fierce pride sparkling in her green eyes. "Ya ready? Hold m' arms tight so's ya don't fall." She held out her little arms to the woman in front of her and then set her gaze on the base of the mountain in the distance. She wasn't trying to show off. Really. Levy told her that was a bad idea.

She scrunched her nose in concentration and blinked, opening her eyes to a completely different scene than she'd closed them. Sarah was slightly green, gripping Sam's forearms and looking around in wonder. "That's amazing, child!" She hobbled to a nearby downed tree and perched on it, pulling her plastered leg up onto the tree trunk next to her.

"Do you need to rest now? I don't want you to overtax yourself." With a sheepish grin, Sam sat down where she was standing, breathing slightly hard from the effort of teleporting two people so far. Sarah pulled a small bag off her waist that Sam hadn't even noticed was there and started rummaging around in it. She pulled out a lacrima, small enough to fit into the palm of her hand.

"Wha's that?" Sam crawled closer, sitting on her knees and staring at the lacrima. The older woman held it out for her to take and reached into her bag for a second one. This one had little wings etched into the sides of it. "These are a fun little invention. They're scouting lacrima. This one with the wings will fly ahead for a certain programmed distance and then hover there until you catch up to it. Or until it runs into an obstruction." She pointed at the partner in Sam's hand. "That one shows you everything this one can see. Look." Sarah activated the one in her hand and pointed it at herself. Sam looked into the orb in her hand and giggled as Sarah's face popped up, a silly expression staring up at the young girl.

"Tha's cool! Whatcha use 'em for?" She handed the sight lacrima back to her employer and waited. "Well, you said you need to see where you're teleporting to, yes?" She waited for the responding nod before she continued. "This will show you your destination. I used it to scout ahead for handholds when I climbed, so we'll just send it up to where I'd stopped and give you a clear picture. Then, you can send it back down to get your return location. Think that will work?"

Sam contemplated her employer's plan for a moment before nodding. The older woman shifted her focus to the flying lacrima for a moment before tossing it in the air. They say watching it for a moment as it took off towards the mountain. Sam reached for the sight counterpart, staring deep into it. "I don' see nothin'."

"Well, I've had it programmed to fly slowly, I use it for finding handholds, remember? Hold on, I can tell it to speed up." She took hold of the lacrima in Sam's hand again and concentrated on the speed. The young girl watched, fascinated as the picture came into focus, only to see that the ground was flying by at alarming speeds. She giggled at a flock of birds, startled into flight, and the shriek of a scared rabbit as it dove into hiding.

When it finally came to a rest, Sam was looking at a windswept ledge, barely six foot wide. She glanced up to see Sarah staring at her curiously. "Can you make that? I know it's not much to land on, and if not, it's okay." Sam scoffed and stood up, gripping the sight lacrima tight in her hand. "I'll be righ' back." She stared into the lacrima, focusing and picturing herself standing right next to the face of the mountain. She blinked, and then she was cold.

Sam threw a hand backwards to catch herself against the mountain as she slid to the ground. Her knees were a bit weak from the huge jump; if she looked down, she couldn't even see Sarah at the base just below her. But, she couldn't look down. She was too busy staring at the beautiful wide open space that the mountain offered. The air was cleaner than any she'd ever breathed, and she could see for miles around. A slow grin split her face, a sense of freedom she'd never known taking over Sam's tiny body, building until she couldn't hold it anymore and she let out a scream. "WOOHOO!" Sam giggled, listening to her voice echo and fade in the vast sky in front of her.

She sat for a very long time before realizing that Sarah was probably getting worried. Sam looked around and found her employer's climbing gear and bag. She pulled the bag on after stowing everything inside and glanced at the lacrima, still floating over her head. Sarah had told her to just think at it and it would return to the older woman, waiting at the foot of the mountain. Sam furrowed her brow in concentration, but the little thing wouldn't move. She huffed, frustrated before grinning mischievously. She snatched the device out of the air and tucked it into a pocket of the bag, stowing its partner as well.

She wanted suddenly, desperately to be out there. To feel that wide open space. Gajeel called her his little bird, right? _Wha' would it feel like to fly?_ Surely she could fall a little bit and then teleport the rest of the way.

Stepping back until the bag on her back bumped into the cliff face, Sam crouched a little and took two leaping steps forward. With a loud whoop, she hurled herself off the side of the mountain, shrieking with laughter.


	23. Ryos

_When they reached the barn, Ryos stopped, nostrils flaring. Blood... What?_

The farmer stopped with his hand on the big barn door, glancing over his shoulder at the boy behind him. He was wide eyed, breathing a little quickly and looking around in a panic. "Boy? Ya alrigh'?" The young man whipped his gaze to meet the farmer's eyes, clenching his fists and setting his jaw in determination.

Levy had set this up. He wouldn't be in danger... would he? She could be testing his ability to adapt to danger. Ryos took another breath, deeper this time, to see if his tiny mentor was lurking nearby watching. He couldn't smell her, and now that he thought about it, the blood he smelled was old. There was a very faint tinge of fear to it. "What exactly is my job?"

The farmer pushed the door open a bit, the scent of fear becoming a stronger. Ryos tensed before his brain caught up with his nose and told him the smells he was reacting to were animal, not human. "I got a pup got hurt. His ma is m'huntin' bitch. She's normally real good like, but with 'er pup like this, she ain't lettin' me near. It ain't gonna kill 'im, but it'll fester if'n I don't clean 'im. I don' wanna scare 'im more, or make 'is ma lose trust. She's m' best bitch. Ya tink ya can help?"

Ryos let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. He was capable of killing animals, he'd done it with his... his father. For food. But he didn't enjoy it as much as some hunters. Helping an injured animal though? He could do that. "Of course, sir. May I see the animals?" The farmer nodded and headed into the barn, murmuring soothing words to the hound that started growling as soon as they stepped in.

The barn was airy and cool, the top outside doors of the horse stalls thrown open to the beautiful day. The stalls were mostly empty, the beasts out in their pasture. One big black horse, however, hung his head over his door and huffed a breath into Ryos' hair as he walked by, trying to lip some of it into his mouth. The boy smiled, reaching up to stroke the velvet muzzle. "Hello, friend." The farmer paused, raising an eyebrow at the boy. He'd meant to warn him, that stallion was usually mean as sin, but he seemed to like this child for some reason.

After a moment of playing with the big creature's forelock, Ryos turned to his employer and started walking deeper into the barn. The growls from the last stall had settled when they stopped moving closer, but now she had started up again. As they came to the open door, Ryos could hear whimpers from the wounded pup as well. He looked in cautiously, crouching to present less of a threat to the scared hounds.

There was a tan colored puppy laying on his side in the corner, one ear completely black, and a patch of black across his muzzle. He wagged his tail weakly, and Ryos saw a bit of black on the tip of that as well. There were three other puppies of various colors piled on each other asleep in the corner opposite. They didn't seem to be bothered by the tension. The pup's mother was standing between the door and her litter, her brindle coat standing on end and her long floppy ears pinned back.

After assessing the situation for a moment Ryos backed out of the line of sight of the dogs, standing to his feet. "Alright, I'm gonna do something. Can you keep the mother focused on you?" The farmer raised an eyebrow at the small boy before stepping into the stall just enough to get the mother's attention. "Ey, purty girl. 'S jus' me. I ain't gonna hurt ya, nor yer pup. C'mon now." As he continued to murmur nonsense words to his hounds, Ryos slipped into the next stall, closing his eyes to concentrate.

As Skiadrum had taught him, he pictured himself melting into the shadows, becoming one with them. When he opened his eyes, all color had faded. Everything was in shadow, but it didn't impair his vision at all. He found a shadow on the wall next him and stepped close, flowing into it. It was a strange sensation, feeling like he had no form. When he was part of the darkness, Ryos could go wherever he wanted, usually in an instant. He slid through a crack in the wall, moving slowly so his shadows wouldn't distract the bitch and agitate her.

There was a spike in the scent of fear and he glanced around to see the farmer staring at him. Well, at the mass of shadows that he'd caused on the wood of the walls. He had to give the older man credit, he didn't slow down his litany of things he and the dog were going to do once the pup was healed. The poor, stressed mother had stopped growling, but her hackles were still up. Ryos continued his trek around the stall, stopping behind the wounded pup. It looked up at the shadows, sniffing curiously.

From this close, the shadow wizard could see that the wound was a gash down the hound's side and back leg. With a bit more focus, Ryos extended his shadows onto the ground under the pup, supporting its wounded leg before pulling the pup into his chest. Or where his chest would be if he had form. The curious little creature didn't even yelp or whine at the strange sensation.

When he stepped out of the shadows in the next stall over, the puppy licked Ryos' face, wagging its tail happily. The farmer heard the boy rustling around in the straw and backed out of the stall the mother was in, closing the door gently. "Good work, boy. Not gonna lie, I wasn't sure wha' ya had in mind, but tha' was some righ' fine work." They heard an agitated bark from the closed stall next to them as the mother realized her puppy was missing. But she calmed quickly, curling up around her other pups.

Ryos walked back towards the barn door with the farmer, cradling the puppy in his arms. "Righ' then. Here's yer payment. I'll take this 'un now." He scooped the pup up and laid him on a table to clean the wound, then handed Ryos a bag of jewels. The boy took it with a small smile and a nod. "Thank you, sir." With a final pat for his new friend, he turned and walked out the door, heading back for home.


	24. Liberation

"Are you alright, dear?" Fitz was brought crashing back to the present, the old wrinkled face in front of him twisted in what he thought was confusion. The dusty smell of the old woman's home replaced the memory of the stench of soot, but he could do nothing except stare through unblinking eyes as she hobbled past him to put the set of brushes into a nearby cupboard. "Fitz? Child, what's the matter?"

Warmth sank into Fitz' bones, his mind still scrambling back from the memory of the day his life had changed. Mostly for the better, in his opinion. He and Sam weren't starved. They never froze anymore. And their lives weren't constantly spent in fear of coming down with the sickness. But, they were always looking over their shoulders for fear of being recognized. Fitz still worried someone would come after them for the death of their master.

The red headed boy jumped when he felt the woman's soft fingers close around his forearm. "Fitz? What is going through that mind?" The boy shook himself, casting the last of the flashback out of his mind. "Uhm..." he coughed to clear his fear choked throat. "I'm sorry. Yes ma'am, I'm alright." He glanced at her hand on his arm and gently laid his own over it. "Is there anything else I can do for you?" Fitz gently began to lead her to her chair as she studied his face. He was the leader of a group of children, he knew how to force a calm and blank expression onto his face.

The old woman settled back into her easy chair, and looked at him pointedly. "Fitz, child, I'd like to know what caused you to have a panic attack just now." She gestured to another chair, and then sat staring at him patiently. Fitz shifted from one foot to the other, debating just walking out without saying anything else to her about it. But he'd never had an adult care about his feelings before. Well, before Levy, but this was still different. Levy was only a few years older, this woman was like a grandmother.

With a sigh, he perched on the edge of the chair she'd indicated, and launched into his story. "Well, it was the brush. I'm sorry, I know it's stupid, but..." he took a deep breath and continued his story, telling her of his fear for his own life. He hadn't meant to tell her everything, but he couldn't stop himself once he'd started. Fitz had never told anyone else what happened. He and Sam really hadn't even talked about the fate their former master had come to. But here he was, spilling all of his secrets to her that didn't involve the other warehouse kids. Those he managed to keep inside.

The entire time he was telling his tale, Fitz kept his eyes on the floor. He'd only spent half a day with this woman, but he was already terrified to see her disappointment. To her credit, she never uttered a gasp or a disparaging noise; she simply sat and listened. "So... that's it. That's why I freaked out. I'm so sorry. I can leave if you want, you don't have to pay me."

"What on earth would I want you to leave for, child? And you've done admirably at your job? Of course I'll pay you, don't be silly." She shifted slightly to grab her purse off a nearby table, digging out a bag with the jewel Fitz had earned. The young man blinked in surprise when she threw the bag to him, catching it and clutching it in his hands.

"But... I'm a criminal. You shouldn't pay me!" Once again, Fitz was calmed by the soft hand on his arm as she reached over to grab him. "Shh, you're fine. Believe it or not, I'm on a committee that advocates for children such as yourself and your sister. I'm actually in charge of the division that specifically fights for chimney sweep children. I have heard a great many stories like yours, although I'll admit most of them didn't end as tragically."

The boy's eyes snapped up to stare at the older woman, blinking in surprise. She chuckled again, patting his arm twice before pulling her hand back. "I work with doctors to heal the sickness, I work with the Council to free children and find them homes. You are not alone, child." Fitz's blinks started holding back tears as he looked at the floor again, nodding slowly. "Th-thank you ma'am." There was a soft laugh from the woman as she waved a hand dismissively.

"Levy trained you well in manners, Fitz. But you can just call me Sherrill." He looked up at her again, smiling as he wiped his cheeks. "Also, you and your sister are welcome here any time. Either for a day, or a week, or whatever you need. I can help you find a permanent home, create a life for yourselves." Fitz nodded, standing and taking her hand in his own, bowing over it and kissing her hand gently. It was a gesture he'd seen other people use as thanks, or a way of showing affection, although he'd always snorted at it and seen it as a way to steal a lady's bracelet instead. She smiled brilliantly when he straightened, squeezing the young man's hand before letting go. He nodded once and turned to leave. Just before he closed the door behind him, Fitz called out to his new friend again. "I'd be happy to help you again, any time you need, Sherrill. Just let Levy know, okay?"


	25. Freefalling

_She wanted suddenly to be out there. To feel that wide open space. Gajeel called her his little bird, right? 'Wha' would it feel like to fly?'_

The air was cold and thin on the side of the mountain, but it didn't bother Sam in the slightest. She'd been colder before. She was shrieking with laughter and whooping as loud as she could as she flew through the air. _Is this wha' birds feel?_ Wind whipped through her hair as Sam threw her arms wide, trying to touch as much of the openness as possible. She could feel the air getting a little warmer as she plummeted to the ground, but it didn't even register in her adrenaline flooded brain.

The bag of climbing gear on her back aided gravity's pull on the small girl, her speed increasing by the second. Sam rolled herself through the air a few times before realizing it was disorienting her. Stuck on her back for a moment, she reveled in the silence that the roar of the wind caused in her mind. It was literally blank, unable to form thought past the freedom that was exhilarating her. She felt like she'd been falling forever, although it had been mere seconds. She flipped one final time, just to see the ground rushing to meet her.

The pace was a little alarming, surely she wasn't that close? She could see Sarah sitting on the stump below her, scrambling to get up as she saw the younger girl's approach. Taking a quick breath, Sam screwed her eyes shut and concentrated on the ground below her, picturing herself there. She still wasn't sure how exactly her magic worked, but if she could picture a place, she could go there.

Sam opened her eyes, blinking quickly at the wind that still stung them. _Shit!_ She concentrated again, finally starting to panic as she rapidly ran out of sky to fall through. She took a deep breath and pictured herself standing safely in front of Sarah. There was an abrupt lack of air rushing past her face, but Sam still felt herself moving forward. She shuffled her legs quickly, running and stumbling forward, squeaking and staring at Sarah with wide eyes. The older woman had finally managed to stand, and grabbed Sam as she came crashing into her, both of them falling to the ground. As quickly as she could, Sarah sat up, shifting the young girl to the ground next to her. "Are you okay?!" She asked, frantically looking her over for injuries.

Sam nodded, shaking slightly as adrenaline started to fail her. She looked around, as if to reassure herself she was on the ground, and started giggling. Sarah looked at her wide eyed for a moment before beginning to laugh as well. When they finally calmed down and caught their breath, the older woman looked up at the mountain and back at the girl in front of her. "Child, what on earth happened? Why didn't you use the lacrima?" Sam ducked her head sheepishly, blushing a little. "Well, I couldn't get it t'come down. I think it jus' likes ya, since ya own it an' all. So... I... uh... I wanted to know wha' it feels like t'fly... so I jumped. Almos' couldn't 'port..."

"Ah, I see. That's strange about the lacrima. But I'm glad you made it down safely. I'm assuming you forgot to consider your momentum?" Sarah looked at Sam as a confused look crossed the girl's face. "Child, teleporting may negate SOME momentum, but if you're moving when you jump, you should still be moving when you arrive at your destination. Did you not know this?" Sam shook her head, blushing again. "Now I feel dumb." She hung her head, starting to stand up and unload the pack she'd brought down.

"Don't feel dumb! That wasn't my intention. You just should learn all you can about your magic before you try to do something dangerous like that again, okay? Thank you, for getting my gear. Did you have fun 'flying'?" Sarah smiled warmly as she began to rummage through her pack, getting everything settled before she slung it onto her back and shifted to push herself up from the ground. Sam nodded and offered her a hand up, steadying her friend. "Shall we go, then?" Sarah settled into an easy stride with her crutches, heading back down the road to towards her house. "Want I should 'port us?" Sam asked as she bounced along next to the blonde woman. Simply shaking her head, Sarah continued walking. "I think you've done enough, for the moment. I don't want you to strain yourself."

Their journey went along in companionable conversation and occasional silence, as it had on the way to the mountain. Even though Sarah had told her not to strain herself, Sam resumed her hopping around, teleporting from one marvel to the next, stopping in the field from before to see if she could find her rabbit friend. The trip was uneventful, aside from Sam teleporting in front of a herd of deer and startling them into a minor stampede. The stag lowered his horns at her before she squeaked and teleported into a tree, and he snorted up at her before he took off after his does.

Giggling once again, Sam popped up next to Sarah as they neared the older woman's home. "I have your payment inside, do you want to have some lunch before you leave? I don't know about you, but I'm hungry. And all I've done is walk. You must be starving!" She glanced over at the girl, smiling as she watched her enthusiastic bouncing. She thought for a moment, trying to remember if Sam had actually just walked anywhere in the entire day. She was pretty sure she'd only been jumping. Just as this thought crossed her mind, Sarah heard a cry and a thump. She turned to where Sam had been a moment before, but the girl was gone. "Ow, ow, ow!"

Sarah whipped back to look the other way, almost losing her balance on her plaster cast, to see the girl laying on the ground, her ankle caught in the branches of a massive tree trunk. Seeing that she wasn't in any danger, Sarah hobbled over to stand next to her, looking down and stifling a giggle. "Having difficulties?" Sam opened her eyes, a few crocodile tears rolling down her cheeks into her hair. "Oh, honey! I'm sorry!" Sarah assessed the injury and quickly reached for the girl's foot. "This might hurt, but only for a moment." With one hand, she carefully grasped Sam's foot, pulling it free of the tree's branches. The tiny redhead whimpered softly, closing her eyes as more tears escaped.

Sarah slid down the trunk to sit next to Sam, continuing to hold her foot up in the air. "Well, I did feel we had a certain camaraderie, girlie, but I didn't think you wanted to be like me this badly..." She managed to keep a straight face as she said this, right up until the girl laying next to her started laughing. In between gasps for breath, Sarah managed to tell her, "It's only a sprain, anyway, not a break. You'll be okay in a few weeks." They laughed a few minutes longer before Sarah noticed the setting sun. She carefully propped the injured foot up for a moment before pulling some bandages from her bag and wrapping it for stability. Then, with great effort, she stood, leaning down to help Sam up as well. "Come on then. Think you can teleport a couple of gimps back this last little bit?" With a smirk, Sam grasped her friend's arm and blinked. When they opened their eyes, the girls fell backwards onto Sarah's couch. "Oh yeah, I can 'port anywhere I've been before, so long as it ain't too far away. Dunno my range yet."

Back in her home, Sarah hobbled around to better splint Sam's ankle before giving her the jewel she'd earned. "Try to keep that foot up as much as possible, and put ice on it from time to time if the swelling is bad." Sam nodded, already planning to have Saki heal her, but of course her new friend wouldn't know about that. She tucked the jewel safely inside her clothes and stood. After deliberating a moment, she lurched forward to hug her employer. "Thanks. For ev'rythin' today." Sarah blinked in surprise before throwing her arms around the small girl. "Anytime, my friend. Once we're both healed up, we shall have many adventures together, yes?" Sam stepped back, smiling and nodding before giving a small salute and blinking out of Sarah's home.


	26. Homecoming

"Juvia loves fighting with Gajeel. She just fits in so much better than with the Fairy Tail wizards. Not that Juvia doesn't love Fairy Tail! Especially Gray-Sama..." The Rain Woman trailed off, staring dreamily off into space. How she managed to keep walking without running into something, I'll never know. I was just beginning to enjoy the silence when she started up again. "Juvia knows eventually she and Gray-Sama will be able to fight in perfect sync, but there's no substitute for practice, so Juvia is happy to have Gajeel-kun..."

"Juvia." I cut her off, trying not to be overly sharp, but for fuck's sake, she'd been talking for five miles straight. Actually, she'd been talking for most of the last week. "Yes, Gajeel-kun?" She turned her bright blue eyes to me, blinking curiously. "Shut yer yap." Her mouth snapped shut and she looked forward again, walking beside me once again in silence. I heaved a sigh of relief, stuffing my hands into my pockets and allowing my mind to wander. I didn't always listen to her when she started prattling on, but she really was my only friend. _Well, maybe. Would Levy consider herself my friend? I mean, we did kiss..._ I cut my thoughts off before I could start obsessing on the tiny Script mage. For the most part I'd managed to avoid it, and in mere minutes, I would be free of Juvia and the risk of her finding out. I turned my thoughts to the orphans instead, running over training techniques I'd planned out over the last week.

"Juvia thinks it's admirable that Gajeel-kun takes so much time with his children." With a groan I looked at the bluenette walking next to me. "They are not MY children, Juv. Don't say it like that." She smiled and clasped her hands under her chin, and I thought she was going to start going on about her popsicle again. "But, Gajeel-kun and Levy-chan would make such beauti-"

"JUVIA!" I snarled at her, stopping dead in the middle of a bridge. She didn't even seem daunted by my grimace, and I regretted once again that I'd told her about the project that had begun consuming my time. I rubbed my face tiredly, "I told ya, it ain't like that." Somehow with telling her about the training and the fact that the Shrimp was helping me, I'd managed to keep from telling her about... other things. Even so, she'd taken it upon herself to tell me repeatedly that I should be in a relationship with the tiny woman. "But... Gajeel-kun also gets flustered when he speaks of Levy-chan. Juvia knows that means that he loves Levy-chan. And your chil-"

"WOMAN!" People in the street turned to look at us as I bellowed at her, but she still wasn't showing any fear, so they quickly turned back to what they had been doing before. I smelled fear from somewhere nearby, and assumed that someone at least had sense, if not the fool I called my friend. She still had a dreamy look in her eyes as she opened her mouth to speak again. "Gajeel-kun?" With an exasperated sigh I answered her. "I swear if ya say anythin' about Levy in the next sentence, I will throw ya."

"Fine. Juvia won't say anything about Levy-chan in this sentence. But the next sentence..." She didn't even try to get away from me when I lurched forward to grab her, gripping her arms and spinning to throw her over the railing of the bridge into the river. _Is she...giggling?_ I realized my mistake as she stopped moving before she even sank below the level of the bridge, having called the water up under her feet as she fell. The pillar of water simply flowed back to the bridge, and she stepped down and continued walking, linking arms with me and pulling me along. I dragged my feet for a moment, hoping she would give up and continue walking without me.

I really did enjoy spending time with this woman, she was a good partner to have in a fight, and the job had gone very smoothly because of her strength in combination with my own. But sometimes... "Very well, Juvia will stop now, Gajeel-kun." I shrugged her off my arm and trudged along next to her, once again enjoying silence. I picked up several whispers from people around us. Juvia's water magic was always something that attracted onlookers, and what she'd just done with it was no small feat. I stuffed my hands back into my pockets and tried not to growl at people I walked past. I groaned when I heard the intake of breath as she prepared to launch into another tangent, and scrambled for something to cut her off. "Even if Gajeel-kun's reaction just proves Juvia ri-"

"Yer new hat is stupid." I blurted out, grasping the first thing I could come up with. She'd lopped her hair off, and bought something completely different from what I was used to. She was desperately trying to catch the stripper's attention, and had decided this would do it. "Why'd ya waste yer money on that?" I asked as she stopped walking again. I glanced over my shoulder to see her pouting. "Juvia hopes Gray-Sama will like it... does Gajeel-kun really think it's stupid?" Her voice cracked a little as she started to tear up. I watched a moment before noticing the drop in temperature as storm clouds rolled in and I kicked myself. _Way to go, idiot. Now she's going to flood the damn town._ "Nah, Juv. I'm sure Popsicle will love it." The tears immediately disappeared, people gasping as the imminent rain suddenly disappeared, and Juvia started to smile at me. "But, yeah," I couldn't resist messing with her some more. "I think it's stupid." With a huff, she slapped my arm, but I could still see a smile lingering in her face.

We started walking again, the guildhall coming into sight. "Gajeel-kun, can Juvia..." I cut her off once again. "No, Juvia. Not yet. Maybe soon." I don't know how I knew she was about to ask about meeting the kids. Probably because she'd asked at least once a day since she'd found out about them. I reached over and gave her a gentle push. "For now, go back to the guild. I'm sure yer stripper will be back soon."

"Gray-Sama?!" She quickly took off running, but stopped after only a few feet and whirled back to face me. _Oh no..._ I glanced around, confirming that no one was around, and heaved a grunt right as her body collided with mine, her long arms wrapping as tight around me as she could manage. "Juvia has missed going on missions with Gajeel-kun." I patted her back twice before dropping my arms to my sides again. "Yeah, yeah, Juv. Get off."

In mere moments, she was gone, sprinting through town towards the guild. I'd need to report in there eventually, but I knew the over achiever would take care of things for now. I swung by my house to dump shit off and noticed a note on the inside of the door. _Gajeel! Welcome home!_ I took a deep breath and grinned at the lingering strawberries and ink I could smell. _The kids missed you and wanted to do something for you. Come on by the warehouse! Hope you're hungry!_ Just reading the words made my stomach tighten. "Just cuz yer hungry, idiot. Food. Ain't eaten yet today." Wasn't possibly at the way she said "the kids" so easily. As if they WERE ours.

I smacked myself, shaking my head, and trudged down the street toward the warehouse. It was eerily quiet when I pulled open the door, and I froze before slipping inside, making sure it closed without making a sound. The bastards were good at stealth, especially for a bunch of snot nosed brats. But, I could usually hear movement still when I arrived. I slipped down the hall silently, lingering in the shadows. As I reached the end, the darkness to skulk in started to disappear, light streaming in through the high windows.

Once again I froze, my brain not comprehending what was going on in front of me.


	27. Welcome Home

_What... the hell?_ Levy and the brats were standing a few feet apart from each other in a circle on the training mat, all of them facing into the middle. They were all standing in various poses, their hands open and held in front of their bodies or off to the sides. I was about to step forward, attributing the eerie silence their stillness when Fitz burst into action. His right hand flew forward, swinging at Saki's left hand right next to him. The small healer had looked away from him, and jumped in surprise when he smacked her hand. I still didn't hear anything, and it looked like there should have been a resounding crack from the contact. She pouted, and I saw her jump backwards out of the circle.

Fitz grinned, and I noticed everyone else's attention was on him. He'd apparently had the advantage of surprise in his first attack. He didn't stand motionless for long though. He spun in a circle, swinging back across his body to attempt to smack his sister's hand. She was watching him though, and whipped her hands up over her head. Fitz froze at the end of his swing, his right arm extended fully and his back hunched over slightly, his eyes on his sister in case she retaliated. With a wicked grin, she began a swing towards him, but changed direction at the last second. She spun in a complete circle, whacking the upraised hand of Ryos. He'd been looking at me, actually. Don't know how the hell he knew I was there. The boy fixed me with a sullen glare, and from the look of things, he growled at Sam. I laughed low in my throat at that one, and he stepped backwards out of the circle before fading into the shadows.

 _If I have this figured right, that means it is still..._ I let the thought trail off as Sam confirmed my suspicions, trying the same technique. She completed her spin, adjusting her movement at the last second in an attempt to take out her brother. I folded my arms and leaned a hip against the wall, not wanting to disrupt their fun. And it definitely was fun. The bastards that got disqualified were pairing up here and there and starting one on one matches, laughing and screaming at each other. Even though I was still in the hall and couldn't hear anything, I could tell that's what they were doing, based on their boisterous movements. The game continued, within minutes everyone was eliminated except for the shrimp and the fire starter. They paused for a moment before squaring off as if they were about to spar.

I realized then that this was actually a form of training, building reflexes and hand-eye coordination. Quick as a thought, Kasai lunged at Levy. Their movements were choppy at first, pausing and studying each other as they got their rhythm. But only for a moment. Before long, they were swinging at each other's hands so fast I couldn't keep track of whose turn it actually was. I don't think they knew either. I heard movement behind me and turned to see Ryos stepping out of the shadows. "Hey, kid." He just nodded at me. "Gajeel. You helped me test a new trick, so thanks. I'm heading out for food. I'll be back in a minute."

I looked at him a moment before answering. "Oii, trick?" He nodded again, but didn't say anything. I just stared at him a moment before sighing. "Do ya need money?" He shook his head and smirked. "Levy took care of it already." I cocked my head to the side in inquiry, but he just faded into the shadows. _Interestin' how quick his scent fades when he does that._ Turning back to the game behind me, I saw Levy lock her eyes onto me. I went to motion for her to pay attention when she froze, allowing Kasai to smack her hand.

I heard it, a split second before a ridiculously loud noise assaulted my ears. I slapped my hands over them, grimacing in pain. _Rune barrier. Must have been._ Shrimp was shaking the hand that had been struck, the fingers on her other hand flicking out to the side. I saw a word fading from existence, the sound disappearing as abruptly as it'd started, to a chorus of groans from the brats. Several of them had given up their side games in order to start dance parties. They looked at Levy to see what she wanted, and noticed her grin as she walked towards me.

I felt a slight heat rising in my face, and took two steps forward before I heard a squeaked, "Gajeel!" And just as suddenly, a body collided with my stomach, tiny arms throwing themselves around me. I chuckled, meeting the tiny Script wizard's eyes as I patted the little ginger girl clinging to me. "Hey, Little Bird." Gently pulling her off of me, I grinned down at child. "You been training hard?" She beamed back, her smile so big it nearly split her face. "Did we ever! We didn't do nothin' the firs' few days ya were gone, but then Levy come back an' she had this trainin' day set up an' we got to go on missions!" I snapped my gaze to the bluenette now standing only a few feet away.

She wouldn't look at me, one hand wrapped around the other arm, her gaze on her feet. _Missions?! She'd risk them so quickly after everything?_ Sam hadn't stopped talking, but I wasn't hearing anything else she'd said so far. Forcing myself to focus back on her, I didn't even realize I was growling. "An' then, I jumped off the mountain! It was 'mazin' Gajeel! I ain't never felt so free! An' I didn't get hurt none, not then at least, an' I made a new friend..." She gradually stopped talking, realizing her words were making me angry. The other brats had seemed excited too, bouncing like they wanted to tell me their part, but I just leveled a glare around at all of them. They immediately stilled, silence filling the room as if the rune barrier was back.

"I can't believe ya would betray my trust like that, Shrimp." She flinched as if I'd struck her, and I almost regretted my words. But she'd promised she wouldn't tell anyone about the brats. "Ya promised. Ya promised ya wouldn't tell no-anybody." She looked at me and then around at our audience. "I didn't, Gajeel. No one knows who these kids are. I-" I cut her off, grabbing her arm and dragging her towards the kids' living area. I saw James move to get in my way as the rest of the brats scrambled out of it, but Sam appeared in front of him, shaking her head. He still looked a little anxious, and I should probably have felt bad about it, but I just kept walking, the tiny bluenette keeping step with me now.

"He ain't gone hurt her, James..." I heard my little bird murmur to the boy. _Hurt her?_ That did make me hesitate, though I was still growling. "I know, Sam. But... someone should tell him..." As soon as I knew he wasn't afraid for his mentor, I picked up the pace again, slamming the door behind us as I stormed into a room. I dropped her arm like it burned me, stalking to the other side of the room and folding my arms across my chest. I kept clenching my fists, trying to control the rage I felt building. _She put them in danger._ "Put that barrier back up. They don't need to hear this." I growled at her, but when I looked, she'd already had a pen out to do that. I stood glaring at her until she turned to face me. I opened my mouth to snarl at her but stopped when she started first, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"I kept my word, Gajeel. No one has any idea who they are." She started again. I couldn't hold back any longer, and threw my arms down, fists clenched as I roared at her. "YOU PUT THEM IN DANGER WITHOUT ASKIN' ME!" She shrank back from me just a little. "They were never in any danger, Gajeel." My fist flew into the wall nearest me, shaking it. "SAM WAS HURT! SHE JUST SAID SO!"

"You didn't let her finish! Do you know how excited that girl has been to tell you what she learned on her mission? She's been bouncing for days, asking me over and over when you were going to be back." I scoffed at that. "Sure. You mean the job where SHE JUMPED OFF A FUCKIN' MOUNTAIN?!" I had felt my anger starting to fade in the face of her calm, until she mentioned the little ginger girl. Even as I got loud again, she remained quiet. "She didn't even get hurt because of the mission, Gajeel. I planned everything so they wouldn't be in any danger."

I folded my arms again, turning away from her. I heard her step towards me and I felt shock replacing some of my rage. _She's not afraid?_ She stopped me completely, simply by placing her hand on my arm. "Do you honestly have so little faith in my intelligence? They're tough kids, Gajeel. You know that. But they can't stay living in this warehouse and stealing, living off scraps filched from dumpsters for the rest of their lives. That none of them have been caught yet is a miracle." There really wasn't any arguing with her logic. I took a deep breath to calm myself further, but that was a mistake. Her scent filled my nose, overwhelming me. I could barely focus on the words she was saying. _Damn. I missed her._

"They're amazing kids, Gajeel. And they've been through so much. Just like you. Hell, you went through worse than this at their age, and look at the amazing man you've become. I just wanted to give them the oppo-" Growling once again, for a different reason, I whirled and picked her up in my arms, causing her to squeak and cutting off her words with a desperate kiss. With quick steps, I had her against a wall, pulling her legs around my waist. She kissed back with interest, and I allowed my hands to slide up her legs, pausing with them resting on her hips. Feeling her tiny hands sliding around my neck and tangling into my hair, I kissed down her jaw to her neck, chills shooting down my spine at the little gasps escaping from her.

Moving back to claim her mouth, I was suddenly aware of the noises of the children in the other room. I pulled back, taking in her flushed cheeks and gasping breaths, and grinned at her. "Heya, Shrimp." She smiled sheepishly back at me, "S-sorry... I lost focus on the runes." I glanced at the door and back at her. "So if they're standing out there, they can hear us?" She nodded slowly, running her fingers through my hair. I groaned, leaning my forehead against the wall next to her. "Hey, Gajeel?" I turned to face her, raising an eyebrow. She surprised me once again, kissing me softly on my nose, then my cheek and finally kissing me square on the mouth before she pulled back a little. "Welcome home."

* * *

 _ **No excuses, I'm just the worst. I have this fic finished, just need to get everything uploaded and do a final read through! Sorry for the delays, and the cliffhangers. Hopefully you like how things get wrapped up!**_

 _ **Much love!**_


	28. Plans

"Welcome home." Gajeel grinned at me, just a little thing that made my heart skip, and kissed me quickly one last time before lowering my legs to the floor again. I felt the heat in my cheeks starting to fade just as he reached a hand to brush my hair back from my face. I caught his hand and pressed my cheek into it, looking up into his crimson eyes. "I really would never do anything to hurt or endanger these kids, Gajeel. I promise." He sighed, stroking his thumb against my skin. "I know, Shrimp. Jus' panicked a bit."

He dropped his hand from my face and glanced towards the door, stepping back slightly. "That was some interestin' trainin' ya had goin' on out there." Raising an eyebrow, he looked back at me. I twirled some hair around my finger, looking down at the floor. "Well, they're still children. But most of their fun and childhood has been stolen from them. I was just trying to give a little back. I've actually got another plan, but I wanted to wait until you were back to do this one."

"Alrigh' Shrimp. Whatcha got?" He walked over to one of the pallets the children used as beds and sat down, crossing his ankles and folding his arms over his chest. Nodding, I began to pace as I outlined my plan. "Well, some people around town could hold clues, I want to set up a scavenger hunt. I want it to challenge the kids' abilities, PLUS make them interact with society. Some of the tasks in the hunt should maybe be small jobs. For Rat or Kasai, who were stuck here with me while the others were working." I paused, resting my chin in my hand for a moment as I thought.

"Oh! Also, they'll be in teams of three or four. James and Steven aren't the only two I had working together, but teamwork is always a good thing for them to work on. They do all work together wonderfully." I trailed of again, noticing Gajeel was just staring at me. I blushed a little and rushed out the end of my plan. "And there's a carnival on the outskirts of town. They should have some time to just be children. And they've earned money, so they can play to their heart's content. What do you think?" I clasped my hands behind my back and looked at him, rocking back and forth on my feet just a bit. Gajeel regarded me solemnly for several long minutes, and just as I started getting uncomfortable, he nodded. A small grin broke out on his face and he nodded at me. "Gihi, I like it, Shorty. An' I think the brats will too. When?" I sighed in relief and beamed at him, bouncing on my toes. "I can have it all set up to start tomorrow night! Well, if the party tonight doesn't go too late, that is. Maybe I'll plan it for two days from now."

I saw confusion cross his face and giggled. "Gajeel, you haven't caught on yet, but we like to party around the guildhall. Natsu's team should be back tonight from their team up with Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale and Cait Shelter. They said they have news, and naturally everyone is primed for a party!"

"Alrigh' then, we'll do it. I trust ya to set things up for the bastards, ya know more about havin' fun than I do." I let out a squeal and flung myself forward, throwing my arms around him as I buried my face in his neck. He chuckled as he rocked back a little and I felt his right arm wrapping around my legs to pull me so I was sitting sideways in his lap. I pulled my head back to look at him again, beaming at him. _This man makes me so happy... I don't think he even knows._ A wicked grin lit up his eyes, and his left hand slid up the back of my neck, pulling me into a gentle kiss. It had none of the urgency we'd had before, but all of the same warmth. His hand began tracing nonsense shapes on my leg, making me shiver. He started moving his mouth down my neck again, and I gasped as I felt his teeth graze my skin.

"Miss Levy?" We both jumped at the yell and loud thump on the door to the room we were in. I felt my cheeks burning, as if I'd gotten too close to Natsu while he was being an idiot, and I leapt up off Gajeel's lap, brushing off my clothes and refusing to meet his eyes. "Y-yes?" I coughed to clear my throat, walking over to the door as Gajeel groaned. Before I opened it, I glanced back at the Dragon Slayer and almost laughed at the expression on his face. He'd thrown himself back on the bed with an arm over his eyes, although he wasn't quite pouting... Muffling a giggle, I turned back to open the door to James.

"Is everything okay, Miss Levy?" He tried peeking over my shoulder, but he wasn't quite tall enough. "Yes, James, everything is fine. Gajeel and I were just discussing some plans we have for more training." I smiled down at the boy, slowly stepping out of the room and pulling the door shut behind me. "Come on, why don't we go tell the others to gather so they can go over what we worked on last week with Gajeel? I know Sam wasn't the only one excited to tell him." He slipped his hand into mine and we started back towards the main room of the building. "Miss Levy?" I barely heard his words and stopped walking, tugging his hand to turn him towards me. "James, what is it?" He looked down at his feet, cheeks reddening.

"He... he didn't hurt you, did he?" I was speechless, wide eyes just blinking at the small boy in front of me. "What?" I placed a hand gently on his chin, lifting his face to look at me. "James. What on earth made you think he would hurt me?" I regretted my question almost immediately as his eyes filled with tears. "That's what Father would do to Mother if she made him cross... they would go to their room so I didn't know. But I still knew. I always knew where the bruises came from." I threw my arms around him, cradling him to me as he started crying. Glancing over my shoulder, I noticed Gajeel standing in the shadow of the hallway behind me, his face impassive. I knew he was protective of these kids... if James wasn't already an orphan, he might have been soon.

"James, honey, Gajeel would never hurt me." I heard Gajeel's sharp breath behind me and shoved the memory of when that wasn't a true statement out of my mind. I trusted Gajeel completely. There was nothing that would make him hurt me. "Here now. Look." I carefully pushed him back, making sure he wouldn't see Gajeel standing behind us until he was convinced I was okay. I held my arms out to the side. I was wearing a tank top without my usual attached sleeves, so James could see my arms completely. "No bruises, see? Here either." I pulled my shirt up just a little so he could see my stomach. He studied my face and ran a finger down my arm, watching me for a reaction. I laughed a little and smiled at him. Smiling back, he nodded. I held out a hand to him again, leading him out to the rest of the kids.

After a few moments, Gajeel followed us out into the room. I had the kids sorted and ready to tell him their stories, so they didn't try all at once. "Alright guys, don't forget! Take turns! And I'll see you tomorrow!" I was attacked by several of them for hugs, almost falling over as they collided with me. I felt Gajeel's large hand in the middle of my back supporting me and grinned over my shoulder at him. The goof looked pointedly away from me, causing me to giggle before I stepped away. Waving at the kids, I walked out, practically skipping down the street towards the guild hall. Hopefully Lu-chan would be back soon!


	29. Papa's Roof!

"Lu-chan!" I glanced down to the main floor of the guildhall, hearing Shrimp squeal. I'd gotten to the hall before Flame Brain's team, somehow, and come immediately upstairs. If I'd stayed down on the main level, I'd have wanted to be with Levy. I didn't think she was ready for that yet. Fuck, I didn't think _I_ was ready for that yet. 'Sides her shadows were following her around and I knew she wanted to spend some time with them too.

"Kya!" Blondie laughed as she was tackled by the tiny bluenette, the girls hugging as if they hadn't seen each other in months rather than weeks. I chuckled to myself, remembering my own homecoming with the Script mage. _Tech. Stop that thought right there, idiot._ The guild was in an uproar about the little girl following everyone. I was too far away to get a scent on her, but I'd heard her name as Wendy. She was tiny, probably the only person I'd seen shorter than the shrimp.

"And then a serpent flew through the sky!" Salamander was running his mouth about the mission, almost making it so I couldn't hear anything else over his roaring. I was pretty sure he was exaggerating, too. Juvia was drowning the Popsicle, uncontrollable tears pouring out of her. "...Sky Dragon Slayer." My ears picked up her tiny voice through everything else, and I snapped my gaze to her, studying her again in a new light. There was almost silence in the hall as the idiots all stared at her. I watched as her face fell, a blush creeping across her face. _Aye, girlie. I remember that feelin'. Give it a sec-_ The sudden outburst of noise might have startled me if I hadn't been expecting it. "With Gajeel, that gives us three Dragon Slayers now!"

The smile that broke out on her face almost made me smile myself, it was so sweet and happy. She reminded me of the little bird, so easily happy, even if there was a sadness behind their eyes. A little flash of white by her feet caught my eye and pulled me from my wandering thoughts. _A cat? Just like..._ looking around, I found that blue tomcat that was always following Flame Brain around. The little white cat looked irritated, in comparison to the air headed tom, but otherwise they were clearly the same. _Where's my cat then? Why don't I have one?!_ A sudden loneliness settled in my chest, but I shook it off and scowled down at the madness that took over the hall as the demon woman broke out the ale. I caught the Rain Woman's eye and jerked my head in a signal to come talk to me, knowing she would when she found a chance, and thumped down in my chair, content to just watch the fools below.

* * *

"Miss Levy wouldn't really have our clue end up there... would she?" James looked over at his redheaded teammate, the latter bouncing up and down on her toes. "Oh! I've always wanted to go up there!" She squealed and closed her eyes, James sighing as he grabbed her arm. "Touch the sky where lightning met fire." The rules were that the whole team had to participate in every clue, so James had been piggy-backing Sam's teleportation, and Steven was travelling with Ryos. Those two disappeared into a shadow at the base of the huge cathedral, and the little Script mage saw it shoot up the side of the building before his stomach lurched and he was standing on the roof.

"You would think I'd be more used to that by now..." He took several deep breaths to soothe his nausea as Sam squealed, looking around at the evening sky. There was a brilliant sunset on the horizon, and James found himself joined by the rest of his team, staring at the colors. "Papa's roof! Papa's!" The kids whirled, hearing small voices behind them as a man stepped out of the shadow of the bell tower. His eyes glowed green behind the strange visor he wore over the top of his face. Ryos bristled, drawing himself up as tall as he could, his shadows starting to spread out on the roof below his teammates. Steven stepped back, sliding behind his friend as James slipped his hand into his pocket, wrapping around the light pen he kept there. Several shapes were floating around the man, the voices seeming to come from them. "Have fun, Papa? Papa's roof! Go away!"

Sam grabbed James' arm as a low growl slipped from Ryos, and suddenly the man laughed, the glow leaving his eyes as his tongue lolled out of his mouth. "You the secret Levy's been keeping, then? She keeps sneaking in and out of the guild, and wouldn't give me a straight answer... You, boy... I suppose you could be her brat, but you look a bit old to actually be Levy's." He said this, looking over at James. At least, James thought that's where he was looking. It was too dark to tell now that the man's eye's weren't glowing. "Who are you kiddies then?" Ryos was still growling slightly, but Sam smiled and stepped forward. She was somehow always so friendly, even with strangers. "Who are you? Who are you?" The squeaky voices echoed the man.

"That don't matter. Who's this Levy yer talkin' 'bout?" She grinned at the man, earning another laugh from him as his hands spread out to his sides, a small square of paper held in one. "Well, see, Levy is my guildmate. She offered to teach me some runes I've been pestering her for if I'd drop this note off up here on the roof. But, she wouldn't tell me what it was for..." James stiffened a little at his laugh, not trusting the man, even if he was Levy's guildmate. "Well, I jus' like th' sky. An' offered to bring m'friends up here." Sam still stood confidently in front of him, although she slipped her hand behind her back to signal to Ryos to get ready to flee. Steven grabbed his partner's arm and James readied himself, curious what she was about to do. "But, if this 'ere is yer roof, we'll just bug out."

She screwed her eyes shut, blinking out of existence and appearing just behind the man. The shapes around him squealed and shot towards her, but she simply snatched the paper and yelled, "GO!" before disappearing again. The voices shrieked as they flew through the empty space where she'd stood, and the children heard several wooden sounding thunks as the strange objects collided with each other. James saw Steven and Ryos sink into the roof as the man yelled in surprise and lurched towards the only child left visible. The boy started to pull his pen out to write a defense when he felt someone grab the back of his shirt, then the roof of the cathedral was no longer under his feet. He felt Sam tugging on him as their teammates burst out of a shadow near them and he forced his feet to move, running as fast as he could with them as his stomach lurched. "Let's... not tell... Gajeel about this." He gasped out as they ran. Sam laughed and nodded, the other two agreeing as well as they sprinted ahead. He heard a distant shriek and the weird laugh of the man they'd left behind, but they didn't slow down long enough to look back.

* * *

"Juvia is so happy that Gajeel-kun is letting her meet hi- the children!" The Rain Woman was bouncing along the path next to me as we walked to our meeting spot with Levy. She had spent the entire night before and most of today following the stripper around the guildhall. When she'd finally come to talk to me last night, I'd told her about Shrimp's plans for this evening, and asked if she'd meet us, needing another adult involved to keep an eye on things. I sighed, my hands in my pockets as I trudged along next to her. I couldn't really snarl at her for calling them mine, since she'd caught and corrected herself already.

"Does Gajeel have any special things Juvia should know before we arrive?" I just grunted, shaking my head. I'd already told her about most of the kids when we'd been on our week long job and I was desperate to talk about almost anything other than the damn ice princess. We walked into the woods on the edge of town, just deep enough in that the gaggle of brats we were meeting with wouldn't be obvious to the citizens of Magnolia who were headed to the carnival. "Is Gajeel going to tell Juvia what happened to his face?" Again I shook my head, feeling heat on my cheeks. I didn't want to tell her how I'd spent the day before hunting for a cat. That I'd been a fucking idiot and felt left out because Salamander and the little girl had cats and I didn't.

"Gajeel! Juvia! Over here!" I glanced up as the tiny Script mage waved to us, a few of the bastards standing around her. "Uh... Gajeel... what happened to your face?" She looked up at me, concern in her eyes that made me want to kick myself. "Nothin'. I got scratched. Thought ya were the smart one." I looked away, sulking that she'd said something in front of everyone. "Gajeel-kun should not be so rude to Levy-chan when she is just being a good friend!" Shrimp laughed and set her hand on the Rain Woman's arm. "It's really okay, Juvia. I'm pretty used to it. Oh! Before I forget!" She turned and rummaged through a brown leather bag on the ground, and I found my gaze drawn to her before I realized Juvia was watching me and barely holding back a giggle. I growled and turned away, checking to make sure the brats hadn't noticed.

Shrimp finally turned back around, straightening up and holding out two small notebooks. The cover of the top book had a large white guild mark on it, and the binding looked as if it could be opened to add or remove pages. We each took one, and I turned mine over in my hands curiously. "What is it, Shrimp? Aside from a book?" She beamed up at me, and my heart almost stopped, forcing me to look back at the book to keep from doing something stupid, like kissing her.

"I've had Freed help me figure out enchantments for these. They're all connected and keyed to each of us personally. For example..." She pulled out one more notebook, grabbing a pen and writing on an open page. She turned it so we could see what she had written. The top of her page now said, "Juvia" with a little face drawn smiling next to it. Underneath the top of the page was simply written, "HELLO!" I stared at the page, wondering what exactly we were supposed to be seeing with the woman standing next to me squealed, looking at her own notebook. The emblem on the cover was glowing a soft blue color, exactly like Levy's hair. She flipped it open to the first page and there at the top of the first page was Shrimp's name and below it her message.

"You can also write messages to more than one person, as long as they've got one of these books to receive on. I figure we are going to be splitting up with the kids tonight, we may want a way to keep in touch." I smiled slightly, tucking the book into my pocket. "Alright, Shorty. Good thinkin'." I met her gaze for a moment before turning to look at the little bastards gathered around us. "Right. Who ain't here yet?" I was counting heads, little voices clamoring around me when I felt a tiny body collide with my back, Sam's arms wrapping around me as had become her usual greeting. It didn't even bother me anymore that I never smelled her coming, I'd realized that she was using her magic to simply appear right behind me just before hugging me. I snorted and patted her arms before pulling them off me, glancing over at Juvia to see her covering her mouth. I could her the snorted laughter she was barely covering up and glared at her.

"Tha's everyone then. Alright, ya bastards. We talked about yer groups. This is Juvia, she's a friend of mine, and she's gonna be with Kasai's group. James, yer group is with Shrimp. Fitz, yer with me. Ya stay with each other, and stay outta trouble." I glared around at them as I heard Levy step up next to me. "You guys, I want you to have fun! You all brought your jewel, right? You're welcome to spend as much or as little as you want on rides and food, okay?" The smile on her face was contagious, and the brats lost any nervousness they'd had about all being out in public together. They split off in their groups and the tiny woman walked out of the woods towards the carnival we'd decided to take the kids to. I waited a few minutes, struggling to keep a smile off my face as I watched the Rain Woman get to know the brats she was in charge of. "Right, Juv. Yer turn." She beamed at me and headed out of the woods as well, her group following her like little ducklings.

I immediately headed off in a different direction, not even looking to see if Fitz and the others followed me. After a brief moment I could hear them crashing through the underbrush behind me, and before long I turned and took us out as well, making sure we came into the clearing and the carnival from a different direction than the girls. There were a lot of families and groups of people arriving at the gates, so I wasn't overly concerned about someone connecting all of us. But it never hurt to be cautious. I growled out my request for five tickets and paid, watching the brats' faces light up as they took in all of the sights. The lights and music and people yelling were almost a sensory overload for me, but nothing I couldn't handle. _Shrimp was right. These kids ain't had enough time to be kids._ I gestured for them to head inside the fair grounds, and grinned as they whooped and took off. Trudging along behind them, listening to their squeals and exclamations, I decided that it was all worth it.


	30. First Experiences

"What would the children like to do first?" Juvia clasped her hands in front of herself, smiling happily at the four kids bouncing around her. She had agreed to take the youngest children, Kasai and Saki both only being eight years old. Kyle and Kel were a little older and surprisingly antics free, for being twins. They skipped ahead of the others, their chocolate brown hair bouncing with their movements. Kel kept hers short, and could still pass for her twin if they dressed the same.

"RIDES!" The two exclaimed, causing Juvia to laugh. She looked at the smaller of her charges, waiting for their opinions. Saki simply nodded, looking up at the Rain Woman with wide eyes and a slight smile. Kasai threw a fist in the air, shouting his agreement with the suggestion.

"Very well! Juvia will take the children on rides. Juvia has always enjoyed the Ferris Wheel, if the children wish to try that?" There were squeals in response, and the children took off running towards the tallest ride with Juvia in their wake, laughing at their exuberance. The five of them piled into one of the carts, the children sliding across the round car and gripping the metal bar in the middle, their chaperone sat in the seat closest to the small gate that secured them. Juvia squeaked a little in surprise when she felt tiny arms around her. Looking down, she saw Saki burying her face into the older woman's stomach, clinging to Juvia as if her life depended on it.

"It's alright, Saki. Juvia will not let anything happen to you." The cart started moving, eliciting a squeal from the twins and Kasai as they craned their heads around to see the view. "Betcha Sam'd love this!" Kel called out, letting go of the bar she gripped and turning in her seat. They'd been one of the last carts to load, so they didn't have to stop every few feet to wait. The big wheel simply rotated, slowly raising and lowering its riders. As the ride progressed, Juvia noticed Saki's grip loosening slightly, and eventually the small girl lifted her head, looking around. Her bravery didn't last long before she hid again, causing the Water mage to chuckle and pat her head.

After the Ferris Wheel, the children were fearless, dragging Juvia to every ride they could find. By the second or third, Saki had lost her fear as well. "Can we ride the swing again?" Kasai grabbed the Rain Woman's hand, tugging her towards the ride in question. "Alright, Kasai. One last ride and then maybe some games?" She inclined her head towards the little healer, her energy level clearly starting to flag. He caught her suggestion immediately and nodded, the little group joining the line for the massive swing set. They settled into the seats when it was their turn, the chains rattling as the attendant went around to strap them each in. He stepped over to the controls and the ride started, gradually picking up speed as it spun. Saki squealed grabbing the chains of her seat with a death grip, the twins one row in front of them starting to laugh. There were only two seats in each row, so Kasai was sat next to a stranger, but the boy was remarkably outgoing, so he didn't mind.

Around and around the swings went, the force of their movement pushing them further away from the pedestal they were attached to. The children all squealed and screamed, Juvia laughing at the pure joy coming from them. Even little Saki. When the ride ended they all stumbled breathless from the exit, the children giggling uncontrollably. "Shall Juvia take the children to the games now?" Holding her hands out to Saki and Kasai, the Rain Woman headed in the direction of the booths that housed contests for the carnival goers to enjoy. She nodded her head at Levy as she passed her, the Script Mage's own gaggle of children bouncing around excitedly with cotton candy and popcorn in their hands.

* * *

"THUNK. THUNK. POP!" There was a slight growl heard between the sounds coming from the knife throwing booth. The game was simple. Pick up one of the three knives you were given, throw it at the wall covered with balloons, and pop a balloon. Jo had stepped up to play, her natural talent with throwing knives boosting her confidence greatly. She'd paid for her turn, picking up one of the mostly blunt knives that was laid out on the stall's counter in front of her. She turned it over in her hands, considering it carefully. It didn't feel as well balanced as the ones Gajeel had made for her, but surely she could still hit a few measly balloons.

She lined up her shot, her friends standing back to give her space. Taking the blade by its point, she singled out a bright red balloon, pulled back her arm, and snapped the knife into the wall between two balloons a foot below the one she was aiming at. That earned the first growl. She picked up her next, tossing it straight into the air once and catching its hilt. Carefully sighting the red balloon again, she adjusted her stance and launched the knife, this time somehow hitting two feet to the left. Snarling louder, she snatched the final knife and flicked her wrist straight out, popping the blue balloon attached to the wall just above her target. There was a definite heat in her gaze as the young man working at the booth chuckled her and handed her the pity prize, a small fabric flower.

"The fuck 'm I t'do with a flower?" She growled, fishing more jewel out of her purse. "Jo... language." She waved a hand over her shoulder, acknowledging Levy's chastisement. "I want another turn, mate. But I ain't usin' them shit daggers." Shaking her arm a little, one of her own knives dropped out of the sheathe that she wore up her sleeves. Without a single hesitation, she flicked out her wrist, a resounding "POP!" accompanying the thunk her blade made. She grinned, throwing both arms out to her sides, knives seeming to appear of their own accord for a brief moment before they too were flung into balloons, popping them with the same ease they had been thrown.

There was a burst of applause behind her as the other kids stepped forward, Sam somehow holding Jo's knives in her hands. No one had even seen her appear by the wall and pull them loose, the man working the counter still just staring at Jo. She took her knives from the little teleporter, grinning smugly as she slid them back up into their sheathes. She stepped forward with a smile, pointing at the massive teddy bear hanging from the roof of the stall. He simply pulled it down, handing the stuffed animal to her and turning to blow up more balloons.

" _C'mon, c'mon. Away you should look._ " I turned my head, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from. It sounded familiar, but not quite like the children I was with. The voice had certainly felt male, but I couldn't place who it belonged to. Finally my gaze settled on Rat, the boy standing casually next to the booth we were currently playing at. The thing that caught my attention was actually how casual he was. Rat was never casual, typically skulking around the edges of the crowd or standing sort of hunched over, that was part of why he was given the name that he had. That and the fact that he refused to tell anyone what his name actually was. I'd heard him say a few things, please and thank you and that sort, but mostly he just communicated with people through his telepathy or gestures.

 _"Over there, you should look."_ His thoughts weren't exactly commands, for that I was happy. I'd lectured him extensively on the morals of reading people's thoughts without their permission or using his magic to force a command on someone. Scarily enough, he HAD that ability. Luckily for us, he was ridiculously sweet and respected privacy above just about everything else. I continued watching him as his gentle suggestion echoed in my mind. I wasn't feeling any nudge to do anything, so I don't think he meant it to bleed over to me as well, he was just not focusing as much as he could have.

I followed his line of sight and saw the man at the stall next to us. His daughter was maybe five years old, and had buried her face against his leg, sobs wracking her body. " _A cheat, the man is, Levy-san_." I blinked, looking back at the boy. He hadn't shifted his focus or his stance at all. " _You knew I was listening then? Of course you did_." I thought back at him, allowing amusement to color my thoughts as I shifted my attention back to the scene occurring next to us. " _Her money was stolen. Should have won, that child._ " As I watched, the man working the booth slid forward, a smile on his face that made me cringe.

"That's just how these things go sometimes. You're welcome to try again." His words and voice felt oily, making me wish I could clean myself, just from listening to him. I was distracted just a moment later however as Rat scuttled forward. If I hadn't been watching, I don't know that I would have noticed. At this point, he actually had sent out a suggestive thought to anyone in the immediate area. " _Look not at me._ " He snatched one of the biggest stuffed animals there and disappeared around the back of the booth. I stifled a laugh and turned back to Jo's throwing exhibition. While I couldn't directly condone theft, I didn't doubt in the least that the man running the booth was a cheat.

"Miss Levy! May I try that one?" James was standing in front of me, pointing off towards a game that was set up across the fairway. There seemed to be two chairs on a platform at the end of a strip of metal, each strip ending into a small pool of water. As we watched, one of the chairs jolted up a foot into the air, the strip pivoting with it as its occupant shrieked. Each tub was five foot deep, four foot across. There were rings nearby for children to wear in case they couldn't swim.

"Oh! That's too bad! Two more wrong answers and you're in the water!" The girl running this particular game was far too happy with the thought of dumping her participants into the tub at the end of the platform. My group of children squealed with delight, and we got in line so James could play. There was a family waiting at the game's exit, and I heard the father mutter something about not thinking they were so smart now, were they?

Just as he snorted laughing, the young man in the seat got another question wrong and the chair shot up in the air at such an angle that staying in it was a challenge. The boy groaned and stopped hanging on to his chair, sliding down to splash into the tub. I couldn't help laughing as the water sloshed over the side, soaking Jo as she stood watching.

James paid his money and stepped up to the platform. "Is there no one you want to compete against?! If you get your answers first, you could put them in the water!" The other children shuffled around a little nervously, Jo already drenched and the other two not wanting to be standing there shivering. "No, thank you. I'll compete against myself." James settled into his chair and waited expectantly.

"Alright then. Rules are that you have to answer three questions out of five. Three mistakes will end you in the tub! Are you ready?!" The boy nodded solemnly, staring at the attendant. "First question! We'll make it an easy one. Who is known as the Titania of the Fairy Tail guild?" James only thought for a moment before blurting out, "Erza Scarlet." A chime sounded from the booth the attendant was in. "See? Easy! Next question! What kind of tree does the town of Magnolia have a festival for?"

This question was tricky, because he could just say sakura, but it was specifically the rainbow sakura tree. I needn't have worried though as he threw out the correct answer. "That is right!" The cheerful woman yelled out as the chime sounded again. "Next question! How many Dragon Slayers does the Fairy Tail guild have as members?"

The timing of the question was incredible. Just as she asked, I felt more than anything the man standing behind me. I glanced up over my shoulder and smiled at Gajeel, the Dragon slayer standing with his arms folded merely a foot away. The children with him had gathered around to watch James' turn at this game, muttering their guesses to each other. "That's simple. They just had a new girl join who has a cat like the Salamander. Had that blonde guy who tried to destroy the city not too long ago, but he's gone so that leaves Fairy Tail two Dragon Slayers." I blinked in surprise as the platform lurched up a foot, the blue haired boy snatching at the arms of his chair for balance. "Incorrect! There are three Dragon Slayers in the Fairy Tail Guild! Next question!"

 _Does he not know Gajeel is a Dragon Slayer?!_ I thought back through all of our interactions over the last few weeks and realized Gajeel had never really mentioned his "father" to the children. With the nature and strength of his magic, he'd never really shown the kids much except his body transformations. As I thought it through, I wondered why he'd kept it from the children. And how it had stayed quiet, it wasn't exactly a secret amongst the guild or townspeople. I absently looked at him again, but he'd wandered over to collect his group and head to some other part of the carnival.

"This could be your final question! If you get this right you win a prize, if you get it wrong there will be one final chance! WHO is the Master of the Fairy Tail guild?" James released his grip on the chair, smiling again. "Another easy one! Master Makarov!" A momentary panic crossed his face as his chair lurched again, but then he realized it was lowering back to the platform. "Congratulations! You have won! Please step over to the booth and select your prize!" The children cheered and ran over to the counter with him, all of them pointing and cheering.

I watched James consider his options for a moment, glancing at a certain little redhead standing next to him before he pointed at a small blue bear, almost the same color as my hair. She had a teeny blue bow on her head, nestled between her ears, and a small navy colored heart between her arms. Sam's eyes lit up as the boy turned and offered the animal to her, an ear piercing squeal erupting from her as she took it and enveloped him in a tight hug at the same time. His face brightened in a brilliant blush as she kissed his cheek and disappeared, popping into the air next to me. "Levy look! Isn't she perfect?!" I chuckled and wrapped an arm around her. "She's beautiful. You guys ready to grab some food?" Excited yells answered me and I laughed as we turned towards the snack vendors.


	31. Dragons at a Carnival

"Alrigh', ya bastards. Go do what ya want. Don't steal nothin', an' don't cause trouble." I leveled a glare at the kids in my group, making Nikita laugh. She seemed to have caught on that my meanness was a bit of a show. The small girl lunged for my hand, latching on and tugging me towards the rides. I grunted and cracked a small grin before allowing her to pull me, the boys all trailing behind us.

"Gajeel! I wanna go on that one!" Nikita pointed at a ride set up to the side. There were ridiculously colored, oversized cups sat on saucers and arranged on a series of rails. In the middle was a wheel type handle that people were grabbing onto as they sat on the bench seat that went around the edge of the cups.

"Alrigh' then, let's go." We stepped in line and waited our turn. The cups were big enough I could ride with all of the brats in my group, so I made them slide in, seating myself on the closest spot to the cup's door. Just in case.

"Okay, everybody! Are you ready for some fun? Pull on the wheel to spin your cup faster!" The woman running the ride was ridiculously perky as she made her announcement, waiting just another moment before grabbing a lever at her waist and throwing it to the side to start the ride. The kids lurched to grab our handle as the cup began to slowly spin, the base moving in a wide circle on the rail it was mounted on. On top of that, the rail we were circling on started sliding in a circle around the main ride's pedestal. Ryos and Steven almost immediately turned green, which made Fitz start laughing. I reached out to grab the wheel in the middle.

 _Spin faster, eh?_ Giving it a strong pull, I felt the cup beginning to whirl a little more. I kept going, pulling harder than was probably necessary as the world sped by in a blur. Nikita was squealing with laughter, and all three of the boys had their heads down, groaning as they clutched their stomachs. I had to admit that I was having fun, and before I knew it the ride was ended. Nikita leapt out of our cup, stumbling a little from her dizziness. The boys, on the other hand, they were all three practically crawling. I threw my head back laughing and reached in, scooping the younger two up, one under each arm, and turned to walk out of the ride.

"Come on then, Red. Yer practically a man, ya able to walk out on yer own?" The boy glared at me as he stumbled out of the ride, still clutching at his stomach. I left the gated area that surrounded the cups, still chuckling to myself as I set the two young ones on a bench and walked to a nearby booth. When I got back to where I'd left them, Fitz was leaning against the fence, Nikita peering around in interest at everything else around.

"Here. This'll help ease that. Where ya wanna go next?" I passed them each a cup of lemonade, hoping it would calm their stomachs enough that we could continue. I was actually enjoying this more than I had expected to. Fitz sipped at his drink, straightening as he did.

"I would like to try that one over there." The redheaded boy said, pointing at a roller coaster on the edge of the fair. Steven and Ryos groaned, their faces still slightly green as we all turned to head to the new ride. "C'mon, ya wimps. This one doesn't spin." They stumbled to their feet behind us, no doubt their pride demanding that they attempt to keep up with the rest of us, at least so early in the trip. By the time we got through the line to the ride, they seemed to be back to their normal selves, talking and laughing with the other brats.

This ride was shaped like a large "U". It had several cars hooked together and pulled you back about fifty feet into the air before dropping the cars so they shot down and rocketed back up the other side of the rail. There it would hesitate for about ten seconds before it dropped again, plummeting backwards of course. It repeated the motions five times before stopping in the middle again. Each car sat four to six people on two benches, so I climbed into the back seat of the front car with Fitz and we let the three smaller ones share the front seat. Nikita was practically bouncing with excitement, the boys on either side of her letting out simultaneous groans the moment the cart started pulling backwards.

I had to laugh as they leaned against the edge of the cart, the small girl with them shrieking that they'd better not throw up on her. They both managed to keep it held in, and she resumed her laughing as the ride dropped us for the first time, the wind rushing through her short hair, flaring it out behind her. It was a little lame for me, nothing like riding on Dad's back when he was flying, but the brats were enjoying it, and that was the point. I decided that I would probably let the younger boys skip out on rides for the rest of the night, they really seemed miserable. When the ride ended, I carried them off again, Nikita skipping ahead and begging to ride the saucers again.

"Gajeel... I think I wanna to sit this one out?" Ryos mumbled, glaring up at me through his hair. I chuckled and nodded, turning to get in line with the other two again. "Why don't ya grab some food once yer settled a bit?" Steven shook his head violently, leaning against the armrest of the bench they were sat on, and my laughter increased. _They'll be fine._

* * *

"Ya gone tell 'im, Ryos?" Steven looked over at his best friend as his stomach settled, taking slow breaths to ease the nausea he was fighting down. The black-haired boy shook his head, looking around to make sure no one was within hearing distance. Gajeel maybe was, but with everything going on and the noise of the ride, they should be safe.

"I dunno, Steven. Do ya think he'd believe us? Just because HE is a Dragon Slayer, doesn't mean he would believe us. No one else does. 'Sides... he didn't listen the last time I tried talking to him."

Steven nodded, remembering the weeks his friend had searched for this strange boy he remembered. They'd woken up together in an alley, and immediately started searching for... someone. Ryos had remembered more than the blonde boy who was his teammate. He remembered a woman with a kind smile, and three other kids like them. He especially remembered the one he'd always seen as his big brother. They were so small, they'd gone to the first adult they could find to get help.

"These damn street rats. Go on! Git!" That was the usual response they got, people passing by assuming they were beggars. Sometimes they found a nice one who would offer them food and try to take them to an orphanage. They got stuck in one of those for about a week once before Ryos gathered enough strength from the regular meals to use his shadows to get them both away. Then he'd found somewhere to hole up for a while, stolen some food, and snuck out in the middle of the night to search for their friends. He could move faster and further in his own shadows without Steven, but didn't want the other boy to see his weakness.

After a while they'd given up, only for Ryos to bump into Gajeel about a year later. The older Dragon Slayer had a guildmark on his shoulder, and travelled around with some mean looking people. Ryos had tried to catch his attention, but he couldn't remember the Iron Dragon's name. Couldn't really remember anything except that he thought he knew him. Gajeel, for his part, hadn't seemed to remember him at all. His crimson eyes had met with Ryos', his brows coming together in a grimace.

"Whatdya want, runt?" Ryos had simply stepped back into shadow, disappearing completely. The older Slayer had searched for him briefly before shrugging it off and walking away. The younger pair had kept their ears open as they formed their community of thieves and street rats, eventually learning about Natsu and Wendy as well, but still not having anything but a fuzzy memory of their faces as children. Then, there was the fight between Fairy Tail and Phantom Lord that they heard about and dismissed as stupid adult things.

When Gajeel had shown up as the guild wizard to train them, Ryos had almost said something right away. But the other Dragon Slayer hadn't even had a hint of recognition when he looked at the younger boys, so he'd kept his mouth shut. Steven had asked him several times since then if they were going to say anything, but it never seemed to be the right time. Maybe he'd been wrong? Maybe they had nothing in common aside from a similarity of magic.

"Maybe... maybe we'll tell him tomorrow when they come to train. Let's think on it some more." The Shadow Dragon Slayer kicked his feet in the dirt below their bench, glancing over his shoulder at the ride again. It should be ending any moment, and this wasn't exactly a conversation for having in public.

"An' how long we gonna think on it? 's been weeks now." Steven shook his head, sliding off the bench to pace back and forth. He didn't sit still very well. He was still pacing when Gajeel and the others walked up, and he looked up at the man, opening his mouth to just blurt it out now, tired of waiting. Just before he could say anything, Ryos grabbed onto his arm and started marching towards the food carts. "Wanna grab some food, guys?" Gajeel raised an eyebrow at the boys, but shrugged and followed the gaggle of children to buy food. There were only four, but when they all got excited about something, it could be difficult to tell that.

"And after this, the games?"


	32. Just a Glance

"Miss Juvia? Do ya want I should carry her? She does this a lot, actually an' I'm used to it." Juvia smiled down at the little Firestarter at her hip. "Juvia is grateful for the offer, Kasai, but Saki does not weigh much. Juvia can manage. Did Kasai still want to play games?" The woman shifted a little, readjusting her arms underneath the small girl who was sleeping on Juvia's back. Saki had flagged after their meal, the energy draining out of her visible and somewhat comedic. The other children had helped get her settled on their chaperone's back, and then they all proceeded to the section of the carnival that was lined with games. Juvia was honestly a little surprised the girl could sleep with all of the lights and sounds around them, but with a "family" of twelve little ones, she supposed they were all used to a little bit of chaos.

"Miss Juvia?" She paused, turning to look at the twins behind her. They had spoken in tandem so often that she really didn't quite know which voice belonged to which child, so she looked between them curiously. Kel was staring into a tent set up at the edge of the fairway, her hand clenched onto her brother's sleeve. She was twisting at the waist, the puffy skirt of her dress swaying around her legs. She'd found the thing in a costume shop, and Juvia couldn't resist buying it for her when she saw the little girl's eyes light up. The fabric was a soft pink, and the dress flared out from her hips, layers and layers of material in the skirt turning her into a little princess. Her brother had lingered while everyone else headed out, and when Kel had turned to find him, the boy had run up to her, pulling a large matching bow from the bag in his hands and gesturing for her to move herself so he could fix it in her hair. Juvia had laughed, clapping her hands at the excited squeal that came from the child, and her bright smile had yet to fade.

"What's that?" Kyle looked from the tent up at Juvia and then back, the Rain Woman turning further to see what had caught their attention so fully. "That is a fortune teller, Kyle. There will be a man or woman inside who can look at cards and predict an event that is going to come soon, or a love possibility." She stared of dreamily at that point, the thoughts of a certain ice mage catching her focus. The children giggled, this not being the first time she'd done this since they arrived at the carnival.

"Can we go?" Kel finally asked, looking up at the woman with shining eyes.

Juvia appeared to think for a second. She was going to say yes, of course. She loved fortune tellers, and her friendship with Cana had taught her that they could be more accurate than she could ever have dreamed. Sure you still had the conmen who _pretended_ to tell the future to get a few quick jewels but she could feel the magic emanating off the tent in waves and she knew that these were the real deal.

"Of course! You will have to be well behaved though, this kind of magic takes a lot of concentration."

The children all nodded, trying to keep quiet despite the fact she could see the twins were bouncing on the balls of their feet in anticipation. Readjusting Saki on her back she held her spare hand out and Kel grabbed onto it, the girl's other hand still clasping hold of her brother's sleeve.

The inside of the tent was bigger than it looked on the outside, and the children all stared in wonder. Juvia had seen the magic many times before, but the rest of the decorations still fascinated her.

Two women sat at either extreme of the tent, facing each other while a young couple sat in the middle, back to back. One woman had a cup in her hand and was busy swirling the liquid inside while the other stared into a large glass orb that looked like a lacrima but had a storm crashing inside of it. Juvia could even see lightning spark from the inside of the glass, hitting the sides and making Kel jump as the tent flashed with the light. The women spoke in low murmurs, and Juvia knew it would be impolite to eavesdrop. The young man in front of her looked enraptured, eyes so dark red they were almost black glistening as the light flickered across his skin and brought the tattoos on his arms to life. The entire effect was purely magical, and Juvia didn't know if it was a part of the fortune telling or just to add to the atmosphere the deep velvet and gold trim furniture already provided so well.

The children stared in a stunned silence as the entrapped storm died down and the woman nodded solemnly. The man jumped to his feet, his loafers nearly slipping on the floor as he grabbed the woman from behind him and they both bounded out of the tent without a second thought. Juvia wondered what they had been told.

The seers looked up at their group, and instantly Kyle tugged on his sister's hand to go the woman on the left. She was elderly, with a kind face that the two of them just felt instantly that they could trust. They looked at each other, and held a wordless conversation. This woman reminded them of Grandma. Even down to the way she groaned when she put her tea set away under the table.

"Excuse me Miss, but if it hurts to bend down why don't you just use magic?"

Kyle was about to admonish his sister, but the way the woman chuckled as she gestured for them to take a seat halted him.

"Because, my dear, it can be dangerous to be too reliant on magic. If I used nothing but magic then my bones would go stiff and I would be as useless as a fire wizard in the rain."

The twins giggled as they squeezed onto the bench opposite the woman. It had been designed for one person, and they only just fit.

* * *

"Now my sweets, what can I do for you?"

Smiling gently at the woman from behind the twins, Juvia turned to stand behind Kasai as he began speaking with the second seer as she asked him the same question.

"I.. I dunno? What CAN you do?"

Juvia tutted, tapping the back of Kasai's head, a small smile crossing her face.

"Kasai mustn't be rude!"

The fortune teller simply smiled, waving a hand dismissively. He was just a child, after all. Picking up her deck, she started shuffling the cards in her hands, humming softly. Juvia shifted Saki on her back again, having noticed the girl's head sliding towards the edge of her shoulder. Once the child was settled comfortably again, the Rain Woman looked over at the twins. They were fully entranced by whatever the older woman was talking to them about. When she looked back at Kasai's table the woman had spread her cards face down across the table, her hands hovering over them as she continued to hum. The little boy looked up at Juvia, his eyes bright as he whispered.

"Miss Vesper said she's just going to pull the cards and see what they tell her."

Vesper paused her motions and smiled at Kasai, a blush creeping across the boy's face. It must have been pretty bright to be visible on his dark skin even in the shadows of the tent.

"You don't have to whisper, child. The humming is just my personal preference. The only thing I really need for my magic to work is a moment of focus and a willingness to let IT direct my hands instead of me."

Her hands started roaming again, her right drifting down to tap a card twice. She flipped it over, laying it on the open space she'd left in front of Kasai so he could see the face of it. He shrank back slightly from the card in front of him, but Vesper just chuckled.

"The devil may look scary, but this card doesn't always mean something bad. It can be a symbol of freeing yourself from bonds, and becoming more independent in your life. You're a growing young man, and I can tell you have a great magic in you. Perhaps there is something coming from these abilities."

The young fire mage scooted forward at that point, puffing out his chest in pride. Great magic? Miss Levy always said he had p-po-potenshion... or something. She had told him that meant his power was going to be great. He peered across the small table at the seer as she let her hands roam again, this time her left catching a card and flipping it before she even realized it had dropped. She slid it across the table to Kasai, her eyebrows knitting together for a brief moment as she did. Juvia almost missed it herself, and she was pretty sure her young charge hadn't seen anything. He was staring at the card in fascination, the face of it being adorned with a chariot being pulled by two vulcans, one seeming to be all black, the other completely white. This was strange enough for vulcans, but they were running on all fours like any other beast of burden would.

"What's this one mean, Miss?"

Vesper had returned her hands to her cards, already searching for another card. Juvia frowned slightly, why hadn't she immediately explained this one? Was it something bad? The seer paused her search, resting her hands on the pile of cards.

"Well, all cards have many meanings on their own, plus the cards that present themselves together can change their meanings. The point is that they are just a suggestion at what is to come or has the possibility to happen. Set like this, the chariot suggests that you are feeling as if you no control over your life. This is not a surprising card for a child. Often young ones such as yourself feel this way because you are forced to school or chores. It can also suggest that you are at risk of losing control of your own self. That you have a temper. Does that sound like you?"

The boy's cheeks flushed again as he looked down, nodding slowly. Juvia rested her hand on his shoulder, smiling when he glanced up at her. She squeezed his shoulder gently and his chin rose again, once more turning his attention to the woman across the table from him. Vesper smiled and moved to lift her hands over the cards again. Kasai giggled, pointing at her wrist as he noticed a card stuck to her skin.

"Oh! Looks like the next one presented itself already!"

The fortune teller smiled back at him, reaching her right hand to pull the card from her other wrist and lay it on the table. Juvia was watching her closely this time, a strange feeling settling into the water mage's stomach. Because of this, she saw the color drain from Vesper's face as she dropped the card in front of Kasai, her eyes losing focus. Of course the boy was entranced by the weapons and not the outline of a body that they were stabbed into.

"Oh, cool! Swords! What does this one me-"

The child's words were cut off by a soft wail that was beginning to escape from Vesper's throat, her eyes seeing something that wasn't there. Juvia jumped when the older seer was suddenly behind her partner, gripping her shoulders. The Rain Woman quickly stepped sideways so her back was to the entrance of the tent, whipping her head to check on the twins. They had their heads together whispering about something and hadn't even noticed the event that was unfolding mere feet away from them. Kasai shot to his feet, his hands on the table as Vesper started to cry.

"Miss?! What is it?!"

The older woman had begun to make soothing sounds, rubbing Vesper's back and shoulders to calm her down, but looked up at the boy's panic. She cast her eyes over the cards, her own face paling slightly as she answered.

"The Ten of Swords in that position signifies an unexpected failure or disaster. Sometimes you can control or avoid it, but paired with these other cards... I do not know. As for Vesper, she has a type of magic in her eyes. Sometimes she loses herself in a true sight. She will not remember it when she wakes, so there is no need for you to wait. I would ask that you leave immediately, and drop the curtain on your way out."

Although her words themselves sounded harsh, Juvia could tell she meant them well and was simply concerned for her partner. The Fairy Tail mage nodded, reaching a hand to tug on Kasai's shirt.

"Kel, Kyle, come with Juvia. There are many things still to do before this night is over."

She tried to keep her voice light so she wouldn't alarm the twins or wake Saki, who had amazingly slept through everything that had happened. The young fire mage stepped very close to Juvia, pressing his back against her leg as he stared wide eyed at the young seer who was still sat crying at the table. Juvia, draped her free arm over his shoulder soothingly and turned to the twins as they stepped up to her, clutching a deck of cards between them.

"Children, Gajeel-kun said no stealing!"

She hissed her words softly, worried that after setting off the younger of the two fortune tellers the elder would have them thrown from the carnival if they were found to be stealing. Or worse. Gajeel had trusted her with the children's safety, she couldn't let them be taken. Kyle shook his head, looking up at her with wonder in his eyes as Kel's sweet voice piped up.

"Granny told us to take them! She said we have the magic!"

As if she knew what they were saying, the old woman lifted her eyes to them once again, calling after them as Juvia backed out of the tent.

"Please. Get them help with their magic. They have amazing potential."

Juvia met her gaze and nodded once, pushing Kasai gently out of the tent and gesturing for the twins to follow. She walked out behind them, raising her hand to catch a string that was holding the tent flap open. The group stood there for a moment, readjusting to the sounds and smells that they hadn't even noticed were missing while they'd been inside. Suddenly, the twins giggled and whirled to face their chaperone.

"We have magic!"

* * *

 ** _I know very little about card reading. The information I used here was gathered by my dearest friend, and used just as a guide. The cards themselves were only a trigger for a vision, I didn't mean them to have any particular meaning. Hopefully if there's any inaccuracies you can forgive my lack of knowledge._**

 ** _Much love!_**


	33. After the Party

_A/N - So, this chapter might possibly be sad. Maybe. It came to my attention that there really wasn't any struggle in this fic, and while there isn't necessarily anything wrong with that, I felt the need to spice things up a little. Sorry in advance... Much loves!_

* * *

"So... you're from another world. Sort of parallel to Earthland?" I looked down at the black Exceed sitting in front of me. He was cross legged on the tabletop, a small sword strapped to his back as he watched the Fairy Tail guild waking up after a party in our typical chaotic fashion. I was trying to get all of the information I could out of him, since Lisanna had been shanghai'd by her family. Understandably, of course. Gajeel and the others could probably tell me more too, but they were all pretty well entrenched in a fight at the moment. Well, and Gajeel still wasn't the best with details.

The Exceed known as Pantherlily nodded, his eyes still roaming around the guildhall for a moment before he looked back up at me, smiling softly. "You're very different from the Levy on my world. Well, different and yet the same. She was incredibly intelligent like you, which was a source of constant frustration for us, of course. But she was a bit more... aggressive, at least from the reports I heard. I never met her, although your profiles are identical."

I nodded, that's what Natsu had said too. It was still strange, and somewhat disappointing that they had all been to another world and I'd missed out on everything. There was so much knowledge, so many things I would have loved to have seen! But no. I spent the time as a lacrima, apparently. Unless this was all just some elaborate dream or something. Well, no. That wasn't very likely. There's no way Gajeel would have humored Natsu for this long. It had to have actually happened. I sighed, writing a few more things I remembered Natsu telling me about the other Fairy Tail guildhall. Maybe I could get a good description from Lucy too and have Reedus sketch it out for me. That would be cool.

I glanced up and saw Gajeel watching me from across the room. Maybe he was watching Pantherlily. I don't really know. He HAD claimed the Exceed as his own. I laughed to myself a little, shaking my head. The scratches he'd had the other night had been his attempt to find a cat so he was like the other two Dragon Slayers in our guild. He just hadn't wanted to tell me. I saw him grin, a secret little grin I'd only seen a few other times and knew he was watching me. Raising an eyebrow, I gestured at the door with my pen. He nodded slowly and turned his attention back to the conversation in front of him. He was with Juvia, one of the only people he actually devoted any time to, but I had seen his patience wearing thin with his best friend. I smiled a little, turning back to Lily. That's what he'd said we could call him for short.

"Well, not much else is likely to happen at this point, aside from maybe a fight. Everyone is likely to be nursing a hangover from last night. You'd think as often as we do this we'd have built up more tolerance, but that's not the case for most of us."

"Gajeel told me where his house is. If I feel the need for some quiet, I might head there. But I've spent a good deal of time in solitude. I find this guild highly amusing, and the amount of love you all have for each other is plainly apparent." I smiled wider, nodding in agreement. "We definitely do have that. We're just a big family!"

I pushed up from the table, stuffing all of my notes into my bag and tossing it over my shoulder. I looked around for Lucy, but she was leaning against a table, fully entranced in Wendy's retelling of the fight against the dragon machine. It was more interesting when Wendy told the story, she added more details that Natsu tended to overlook or embellish. There was a chance the story had changed now that nobody was drunk, and we'd all slept most of the day away. I shook my head, knowing I would get trapped if I wandered over to listen, even though I'd already heard the girl tell the story once. It was just so fascinating, but I'd told the kids we'd be by last night to spend some time with them. Then everything with Edolas had happened, and we'd been delayed. I'd sent them a note, but still.

I crossed the hall, waving at people as I went, making my excuses and slipping out the door. Jet and Droy didn't notice, they were too busy laughing and trying to act like their tough counterparts from the parallel universe. I walked a short distance away, stopping in the shade of a tree and leaning against its trunk. I knew he would find me. Within a few minutes, I smiled, hearing the familiar thud of his boots on the ground. I contemplated trying to jump out and startle him, but I was sure he already had scented me. A moment later I still jumped when his finger traced a line down my arm, giggling as I turned to face him. Gajeel grinned, ducking his head down to kiss me quickly before straightening and holding out his arm. I hooked mine through it, leaning my head against him as we walked towards the warehouse.

"I hope the kids aren't overly concerned with the fact that we didn't come by." He chuckled, that little "Gihi" of his, shaking his head. "They're fine, Shrimp. They probably don't even realize what time it is. You know they're just enjoying a little break, and at least half of them were sleeping. That carnival was almost more fun than they knew what to do with." I laughed again, remembering the sugar and excitement buzz that the entire group had stumbled back to the warehouse in. Well, minus Saki, she'd stayed passed out on Gajeel's back. Hadn't even budged when they'd transferred her to him from Juvia, aside from both of her hands tangling into Gajeel's hair. It had taken me almost five minutes to untangle them. I giggled again as I remembered the whispered complaints and grunts from the big man. He was such a baby when it came to his hair.

We walked around a corner, heading down the lane towards what had kind of become a second home when Gajeel suddenly straightened. I glanced up at him, seeing his nostrils flare, a panic in his face. "Shrimp... I smell fire. Look." He raised his free hand, pointing at a plume of smoke rising into the air. "Gajeel, there's a lot of abandoned warehouses in this area... right?!" I heard myself getting frantic as we both broke into a run, my bag thudding painfully against my back. He quickly outdistanced me, yelling over his shoulder. "But fires spread!"

The Dragon Slayer disappeared around the last corner before the warehouse, a cloud of dust in his wake. I coughed, sliding to a stop as I cleared the building, waving a hand in front of my face. _No!_ All I could see was a wall of flame and a flash of black hair disappearing into the building.


	34. Conflagration

_The Dragon Slayer disappeared around the last corner before the warehouse, a cloud of dust in his wake. I coughed, sliding to a stop as I cleared the building, waving a hand in front of my face. No! All I could see was a wall of flame and a flash of black hair disappearing into the building._

I started to rush forward to follow him when a pair of arms wrapped around my waist, clinging to me. "Miss Levy, Miss Levy!" Saki buried her face into my shirt, her arms shaking as she sobbed. "What do we do?!" I reached to grab her arms, pulling her away as gently as I could as I looked around, diggin in my bag already for a pen and my notebook. I saw the children huddled together in a group, many of them crying, and tried to do a headcount. _There's not enough.. Who's missing?!_

"Saki, you're our healer. I need you to stand RIGHT HERE in the open where we can find you. Can you do that for me?" I had to yell to be heard over the roar of the flames, crackles and crashes making me jump as the building started to come apart. The girl nodded, taking gulping breaths to try to calm herself. As I had been talking, I'd found my notebook and scribbled a hasty note to Juvia, begging her to come as quickly as possible and bring anyone who was around. I couldn't even remember if she'd been at the hall still or if she'd gone home. Nikita showed up at my elbow, holding her arms out to Saki and pulling the younger girl into a tight hug as the waited.

Having sent my message, I dropped the book back into my bag and tossed that to the side, whirling to start writing "Water" repeatedly, pouring as much magic as I could into each word. I threw several to the ground between the fire and the kids who'd escaped, trying to prevent it from spreading. "FITZ! RAT!" I screamed over my shoulder to the group, projecting my thoughts too in case the telepathic boy was free. They both showed up within a few moments, Rat's presence felt in my mind more than I even noticed him standing there.

"Rat, can you link me with Gajeel and Fitz?" The boy tilted his head, linking my mind with Fitz and himself, but I couldn't really feel Gajeel. _I cannot reach him, his mind is too wild._ Rat's thoughts whispered into my mind and I bit my lip, worrying about what was going on, but pushed my fears aside. _Right. I've called for help. Fitz, who is missing?_ I glanced at him, noticing tear tracks in the soot on his face.

"James ran back in, trying to write water like you do before the flames got so big. S-Sam..." The red headed boy's words choked off, his thoughts taking over, somehow translating a mental image through Rat as well, showing us both his little sister disappearing into the building after James. Moments later the fire had roared up, catching easily in the dry wood of the warehouse. I reached out with my left hand, my right continuing to write as fast as I could, and grabbed the boy's arm to steady him. _Th-the twins. And Kasai. He tried to get it back under c-control._ I felt my own heart sinking, connected to Fitz' emotions that were wracking him so much that his mind voice wasn't even steady.

There was a great thud as a chunk of the wall came flying out. One of the children behind me screamed as the flames burst out, but my eyes were caught by a gleam of silver. There was a loud roar as Gajeel kicked the wall again, more debris flying out until he could fit through. I focused my efforts there, writing word after word and throwing it at the hole. The Dragon Slayer lurched out and I got a better look at him as he bellowed for Saki. His hair was singed, and there were burns down his arms. I was scrambling to figure out why he hadn't kept them scaled, the massive amount of magic power that I was using was starting to effect my ability to think. It finally dawned on me that perhaps his scales would have heated up too much to be safe for the child that he held cradled in his arms.

Their body was too covered in ash for me to be able to figure out who he was carrying, at first. Then I caught sight of a bright pink bow on the child's head. _Kel..._ By then, Gajeel was laying her on the ground gently at the little healer's feet. I stepped towards him, holding up a hand to touch his shoulder, but he whirled away and sprinted back into the building. Rat grabbed my arm before I could follow, his thoughts sliding into my mind. _The twins were attempting to help, I think their magic went awry. Gajeel came upon them as the flames exploded... It isn't good._

He sent me a mental image of Kel throwing her arms over her face, her mouth opened widely as if she was screaming, and I was insanely grateful that the memory had no sound. My knees still buckled, tears pouring down my face as I watched her twin slap his hands on the flames that were catching in her skirt, pushing her towards Gajeel as he ran up to them. The Dragon Slayer tried to grab the boy too, but Kyle lurched away, turning to search through his cards again. The girl in front of him had whimpered, and that had been enough to make Gajeel snatch her up in his arms, pulling his scales back into his skin so the metal didn't burn her.

Just as the memory started fading from my mind, I heard a thump behind me and a few of the kids shrieked. I whirled to see who had collapsed and saw a flash of red hair, its owner leaning over the body of another, laying them gently on the ground. "Sam! Sam wai-" Fitz ran forward with a hand extended, trying to snatch his sister but she just disappeared. I dropped to my knees next to the child she'd brought out, Kyle laying with his arms pulled up, cradling his hands against his chest. The burns were terrible, it didn't look like he'd be able to use his hands fully again, even with healing.

"This isn't looking good..."


	35. Devastation

It felt like an eternity passed. I could feel the lack of magic reserves in my own body, my sides heaving as I kept just writing words, pouring everything I had into trying to put out the fire, at least enough that Gajeel and the kids could get out. But it wasn't working, none of my words did more than keeping the fire from spreading. I was wracking my brain for something else to use as I wrote "Water" once again, hurling it into the hole Gajeel had made in the side of the building. As my word left my fingers though, it exploded, expanding far greater than any amount of magic I had in me. I stared wide-eyed as it shot into the air, water joining it from every direction except the fire before the whole thing cascaded down onto the building, the fire hissing as it started to recede.

I heard footsteps as people raced up behind us, and could barely make out Saki behind me sobbing out the name of a certain water mage as I sprinted towards the building. The moment there was a clear space, I shot into it, not even feeling the heat that I knew was still there. I raced down what used to be the entrance hallway of the warehouse, skidding to a stop as I entered the skeleton of the main room. There were just beams left now... twisted, grotesque beams of metal and charred wooden logs that used to be supporting walls to the children's rooms.

I noticed little bits of fire around me that were somehow being pulled back out of the building, but my exhausted mind couldn't piece together that Natsu had come with Juvia and was calling the flames to him so he could eat them. All I could grasp was the destruction of this place that had become my second home. Suddenly there was a loud sound just in front of me and I jumped, looking around. Quickly realizing that the pile of ash in front of me was a soot covered child, I stooped, wrapping my arms around him and helping Kasai to his feet.

"It's m'fault, Miss Levy!" His words were barely understandable, but I shook my head, turning us back towards the entrance way. Well, where it used to be, anyway. You could just walk through what used to be walls without any issue. It'd been a dry year, there had been stacks of pallets everywhere that would have burned quickly. Gajeel had told me once that he could smell residual chemicals around the building from its former storage of that type of thing, and we'd always made sure that Kasai had practiced his fire in a clean area. But once the building started burning... and with magical flames, there wasn't much left.

I noticed as I gently pushed the boy towards safety that there were several of my guildmates there waiting. Lucy was just entering the building and I guided the boy into her arms, not wanting to talk to anyone yet. I still needed to find the others. Natsu was still pulling fire to himself and eating it, strangely subdued from his normal behavior, and I could see a young blue haired girl leaning over my twins to assist Saki. Juvia was standing with her arms in the air, moving water carefully through the building to catch the flames that hadn't been eaten, but as I watched for that moment, she dropped them, wiping at her brow before meeting my eyes. There next to her I could see the Master, but I didn't look at him. I couldn't.

My ears caught a sound again and I whirled, trying to locate the source of his voice. As I walked further into the building, a cloud moved and the destruction was lit up by the settung sun. I caught a glint of silver from the scales on Gajeel's shoulders and ran towards him, knowing that he wouldn't just be sitting still unless he was hurt. As I got closer I finally understood what he was saying, and my steps faltered. Over and over, he just murmured three words, and my heart felt like it wasn't going to beat again. "Little bird, my little bird..."

Stumbling up to him I saw a tuft of red hair on the girl cradled in his arms. Most of her beautiful locks had been burned away, but her face was surprisingly unmarred. I stepped a little closer and my knees gave out. Falling to the ground next to the Dragon Slayer, I sobbed, reaching forward to push the hair off James' face. He was laying in front of the other two, his eyes closed. His right hand held a light pen, gripped so firmly I don't know if I'd have been able to pull it away, even if I'd wanted to.

* * *

There were footsteps behind me and I heard the sharp intake of breath before the Shrimp fell next to me. I wanted to move to catch her, but I couldn't. I couldn't let go of my little bird any more than I could stop the words that were pouring out of my mouth. I couldn't stop this strange, awful ache in my chest that I hadn't felt since Dad had left. There were footsteps behind us again and I heard a small voice ask if she could help, but it was too late. Levy pulled the boy's body to her lap, just stroking his hair off his face, her tears mingling with the soot that covered his skin. Wendy backed out slowly, and I could hear Makarov telling everyone to leave us be. He set the Flamebrain and Juvia to watch over the building just in case and I heard him giving other orders.

I couldn't help the growl that escaped when I heard him tell Lucy to gather up the rest of the children and head to the guild, but I cut it off pretty quickly. The Shrimp had been right, we should have gotten help in the first place. Who was I kidding, thinking I could keep kids safe? Could train them to take care of themselves, could be trusted to know what was good for them? I'd let this happen...

It felt like hours that we knelt there on the floor, but I knew they wouldn't have let us stay there that long. Somehow I didn't hear her coming, but I still didn't jump when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I didn't have anything left in me to jump with, I was just empty. "Gajeel-kun must not blame himself. This was a terrible accident only, and there is no blame to be had." I shook my head as tears threatened again. Wrapping my arms tighter around the girl I held, I pushed myself to my feet.

"We need to go. Where are the rest of the brats?" My voice was lower than usual, and I winced as the words scraped out of a raw throat. The smoke and heat had done a number on me, but it was nothing compared to... I shook myself a little and looked down at the bluenette on the ground next to me. "Juv... Stay with her until I can come back?" The Water Mage nodded solemnly and sank to the ground, her hand resting on Levy's shoulder. "Do not trouble yourself, Gajeel-kun. The other children are safe with the guild, and Juvia will watch over Levy." The smaller girl didn't even seem to notice us, she was just rocking the boy in her arms and humming softly. I couldn't even tell what song it was, she was so quiet. I just turned and walked slowly from the ruined mess that had been made of my brats' home. Carefully placing each step to make sure I didn't jostle the little teleporter, even though she wouldn't know anyway, I left. I didn't make eye contact with anyone, just stared blankly ahead as I cleared the building and turned towards the edge of town. The Salamander didn't say anything, although I knew he was watching me as I walked away. I glanced down at the precious cargo in my arms, and as I entered the woods, I let my tears fall freely.

* * *

 _ **A/N - This is going to be one of the last chapters. I know, what kind of freak ends things on a sad note?! The answer to that might be me. Maybe not. Who knows? Maybe I'll turn things around somehow. Anyway, this has actually been planned since August of last year, and was just a matter of getting the story to this point. I hope you don't hate me too much.. Next chapter will be...**_


	36. Resting Place

I heard Gajeel stand up, heard the growled words as he spoke to Juvia, although my brain couldn't connect what he was saying. I knew that I should be with the other kids, they'd be out of their minds with worry. I should let them know what happened, tell them... I couldn't finish the thought as I started crying again, clinging to the child in my arms. He could have been my brother. There had been this incredible thirst for knowledge in him that I connected with so greatly, because I remembered being there. I knew that feeling. I started humming a song I knew from my own youth, but couldn't remember the words to. I wanted to believe I had learned it from my parents, but I didn't know. It was in another language, from another country, and had been part of the reason I wanted to learn every language I could. I'd always wanted to know what it was I was singing, but then I'd forgotten everything but the tune. I felt a hand on my shoulder, but I couldn't stop the song. I had to finish it, had to sing it for the little brother I'd never had, who didn't have parents to sing him lullabies. Gajeel was gone, my other kids were gone, there was only me and James.

After a time, Juvia stood up and walked to the edge of what used to be my second home. I heard soft words exchanged between her and Natsu, and then silence fell again. A small part of my mind was marveling at how long Natsu had been standing guard so quietly. I don't think I'd ever seen him stay quiet for so long in his life, even when he was sleeping. There were voices behind me again as I ended my song, and I opened my eyes to realize darkness had fallen already. Had it really been a day? Just last night we were having a party and welcoming Lisanna home... and now I had to say goodbye to another family member. Footsteps were approaching me and I brushed a hand over my face, struggling to not begin crying again as I looked up, barely seeing him in the darkness. The moon was hidden behind clouds and there was nothing to illuminate the area, as if the world was mourning as much as I was.

"Shrimp, I need ya. Let me take him." I think if it had been anyone else I would have screamed, but I just nodded. Gajeel knelt in front of me, placing one hand over mine when it refused to let go. I tried, but I couldn't make my fingers do what I needed them to. He gently pulled at my hands, easing my grip until he could pull the boy into his own arms. James was gently cradled against him, in the darkness almost mistakable for a child merely sleeping. I followed him towards where the door to the warehouse used to be, pausing to hug Juvia tightly.

"Thank you." I whispered, feeling her squeeze me gently in response before she let go, turning to Natsu. "Juvia does not think there is any danger of rekindling at this point, but if Natsu-san thinks it necessary she can douse the area again?" The Dragon Slayer shook his head, glancing at the building. "I don't smell anything, I think we should get headed back to the guild. I don't want to leave that kid alone too long." I glanced at him in alarm, thinking immediately of defending Kasai. Surprising me again, Natsu pulled me into a hug. "Shh, it's okay Levy. I'm not saying this is his fault. But I know how he's feeling right now, and I might be able to help."

I hugged him tightly, trying to hold back more tears. I had a feeling I was going to be tired of crying pretty soon. The Fire Dragon Slayer stepped back, patting me on the head and smiling. "Go deal with what you need to, we've got the rest of this under control." I nodded and turned to see where Gajeel was. He'd stopped at the end of the street, waiting blankly for me to catch up with him. Just as I was about to run after him, something in the rubble caught my eye. I stumbled to it, picking the item up and cradling it against my chest as tears spilled over my cheeks again. As I caught up with him, the Dragon Slayer saw what I was holding and closed his eyes a moment before nodding and turning to walk towards the woods again.

We walked for only a short time before coming to the foot of a mountain. There was a narrow trail leading up, and I started up it when Gajeel paused at the entrance. It was an easy incline, for the most part, although there were a few times I stumbled in the darkness or had to almost crawl to clear a ridge. Somehow Gajeel didn't seem hindered at all, even with his added burden. As we neared the end of the trail, I stopped, breathing deeply to catch my breath. Ahead of me was a darkness that somehow trumped the lack of light we'd already been dealing with and I glanced over my shoulder at the Dragon Slayer behind me. He nodded and slipped past me, walking into the mouth of the cave. I flicked two fingers in the air, writing a word that only glowed faintly, light feeling too profane at this moment.

It glinted off something metal and I poured a little more power into it so I could see what it was, gasping as I took it in. Even though he'd only been gone a short time, Gajeel had wrought an intricate frame of polished steel. I didn't know where he'd gotten the metal, and would probably never ask, but it was beautiful and perfect. Sam laid serenely inside this frame that Gajeel had shaped like the trees in the winter, just trunks and branches. I couldn't focus on what he was doing on the other side of the cave, I was so captivated by the work he'd already done. As I studied it, words started forming in my head, and I began to run my fingers along the smooth metal base. My eyes took in the tiny birds that he'd formed, and the detail in the trees, feeling rough spots where he'd even etched bark into the trees. I don't know where I was getting the magic that I was pouring into the runes I was writing, and would have had to read them to even know WHAT I was writing, but I couldn't stop. All I knew was that it would protect her. There was a moment of finality and I lifted my fingers, watching the shimmer of magic fill the spaces between the branches, runes and words I'd written pulsing for a minute before sinking into the metal, where it would hopefully remain long after I was gone.

I turned to see what Gajeel was doing behind me as I heard a strange scraping sound and saw him shaping another frame around James. I had to cover my mouth to hide a gasp as I took it in, it couldn't have been more perfect. For my wonderful little boy, he'd made the outline of a library. All around the boy were tiny shelves of steel, made see through so the silhouette of the books was visible. There were sections he'd even gone so far as to give the books some detail, adding words on a few of the spines. There was one that caught my eye and filled it with tears. Centered above James' head, miniscule with cramped writing, it was perfect. Set so the "front cover" was showing, this tiny declaration of who James had been held the name of the children's storybook that I'd read that very first day. It seemed like a lifetime ago now.

I laid my fingers against the part of the frame that Gajeel had already finished as he worked his way around to complete the shaping on the back side, beginning to write again. I assumed I was writing the same things, but since I didn't really know the first time, I didn't put too much thought into it. I just opened myself to the magic that was begging to be used, and let it out. At one point I closed my eyes, feeling the tears that were pouring down my face again, and when I finally opened them, I was alone with these two children who had become so much of my world. There was a glimmer in the reflected light and the magic strung around them, and I looked around for Gajeel. Time had flown by again, and I found myself exhausted beyond anything I'd ever felt before. There was a soft light entering the mouth of the cave, and I dispelled the word I'd been using, sighing with relief as that constant drain was lifted. Stumbling towards the outline of a man leaning on the wall at the entrance, I made it outside, blinking quickly in the rising sun's light and let myself drop to the ground, leaning against his legs.

"She was so young, Shrimp. My little bird..." His words were broken, and I could feel his grief that matched my own. I nodded, sliding forward a little and patting the ground next to me. My Dragon Slayer sank to sit behind me, pulling me backwards into his lap and burying his face in my hair. "That's true, she was just learning to fly. This was a wonderful choice of a resting place, Gajeel. The sky will never be far away from her now." His arms tightened around me, and I could feel the shuddering breath that he took before his next words. "She shouldn't have tried to fly with dragons. Birds can't keep up with dragons, they just end up burned." I turned in his arms, wrapping my own around him as best as I could.

"Gajeel, you need to listen to me, and I need you to hear this fully. This was not in any way your fault. Not even a little bit of it. We still don't know what set Kasai off. It could have been a dream, it could have been a fluke. It could have been someone else completely. You cannot shoulder the blame for this, do you hear me?" His face remained buried in my hair as his shoulders shook, quiet sobs wracking his body. I started running my fingers through his hair, murmuring over and over that it wasn't his fault, that it would be okay, that I loved him.

As he finally calmed he whispered again, making me strain to hear him. "I shoulda trusted the guild. I shoulda brought the brats in after that first day. I shoulda..." I shook my head, pulling back and placing a hand under his chin to direct him to look at me. "I could have fought you harder. I could have told them anyway. I'm as much to blame as you in that respect, and we both did the best that we could for those kids. Who still need us, actually." Glancing at the sky again I considered the time. The other children were most likely asleep, at least I hoped, but we needed to get back to them. We needed to tell Fitz- "Oh no, Gajeel... Fitz..." The Dragon Slayer stilled a little before tightening his arms around me and standing to his feet, settling me in front of him.

"Ya did a good thing, writin' protections for them, Shrimp." I looked back into the cave, blushing a little. "Thank you, Gajeel. I want to write a few more here at the entrance, to keep wildlife out..." I stopped talking when I reached into my pocket, rummaging for a pen. As drained as I was I would need a little support in that respect. As my hand slipped into my pocket though, it brushed against the item I'd picked up from the warehouse before we left, the soft blue fur somehow untouched in the midst of all of the other ruin. Pulling it out, I smiled sadly up at the raven haired man standing next to me and handed it to him. He took it solemnly, turning to say goodbye one last time as he nestled the bear in the little girl's arms. I knew James still held the light pen I'd given him, and had nothing else to leave with him anyway. Quickly pulling my own pen out, I wrote protective runes across the mouth of the cave, waiting to complete them until Gajeel had left. I'd have to come back every year to renew these, but I had a feeling we'd have been back anyway. My Dragon Slayer paused at the head of the trail, turning back slightly to offer me his hand. I took it firmly and we went back, in search of our family so we could grieve together.


	37. Epilogue

"D'ya really mean 't? We gonna tell 'im?" Steven grabbed his best friend by the shoulders, staring into the other boy's eyes. The black haired boy stared back, nodding firmly. "They're sending us all away, trying to 'make things easier on us' or find us homes or whatever. They'll send us away too if we don't tell him. We need him, Steven. He can keep training us." The blonde boy stood still a moment longer before letting out a whoop and leaping into the air, turning to run towards the Fairy Tail guildhall.

It had been crazy busy the last few weeks, everyone getting ready for some event, as well as the guildmaster arranging places for the orphans to go to. At first they'd just sort of assumed that everyone would stay with the Fairies, as they were used to taking in people without families. But for some of the littles it had been too much. Saki would shriek whenever she saw Natsu start fighting with Gray, the flames scaring her so much that she would literally run and hide. This of course would make Kasai close up, hiding himself away to sob, still holding himself to blame for the deaths of their friends.

Kel and Kyle would never be able to use their magic separately. Although her spirits were still high, the little girl was blind, her eyes too damaged by the flames for even Wendy's healing. She'd never be able to see which card she was using, or what her target would be. Kyle's hands were too damaged for him to be able to handle the cards. He could manage basic tasks, but the intricate magic and movements needed for shuffling and pulling his cards would never be something he had the ability to do. However, before he'd mysteriously disappeared, Rat had taken the twins aside. None of the adults knew what was going on, the telepath hadn't uttered a word, so even the Dragon Slayers couldn't hear him. The twins had solemnly nodded and Rat waved to a few of the other orphans to come stand behind them. He placed a hand on each of their heads, and closed his eyes, and a moment later both twins shrieked and passed out. Wendy ran over, but by the time she got there, they were sitting up again.

Kel had reacted to Wendy as if she could see her, but her depth perception was a little off when she reached her hand out to the healer girl. In the chaos of everyone realizing that the telepathic boy with crazy magical ability had linked their minds so Kyle could share his eyesight with his sister, Rat vanished. Natsu and Gajeel both went after him, following his scent trail, and were gone for hours. When they finally walked back into the guild, they were laughing about something, but couldn't remember what it was to tell anyone. Couldn't remember they'd been searching for someone. Didn't know where they'd been. No one else in the Fairy Tail guild seemed to be able to remember who the two Dragon Slayers had gone searching for except the Master, who was sitting with a grin on his face, staying strangely quiet today for some reason.

Fitz moved into the home of the little old woman he had found so much support in. Within a day of funeral proceedings being finished, he'd shown up at her house. Somehow she knew already what had happened and merely opened her door wider, inviting him into her home. Gajeel nodded to her from a block away, unseen by the boy who no longer trusted him, but watching out for him anyway. The Dragon Slayer had shown up in the middle of the night, leaving a note and some jewel to provide for the young man, and then made sure Fitz made it here.

Kasai was training with Natsu on a regular basis, learning to control his magic a little better, but that would only get him so far. Unlike the Dragon Slayer, the young boy couldn't just inhale and consume fire if it got out of control, he could only generate it. After a few weeks he couldn't handle the guilt he felt every time he saw his family of orphans, assuming that they all blamed him, and begged Makarov to find him another teacher, somewhere far away. The Master had of course complied, tracking down and making arrangements with Totomaru, knowing the man would be more than capable of helping Kasai learn control.

Ryos easily matched pace with his teammate, but his energy level was significantly subdued. Yes, he was excited to tell their mentor that they shared the same magic. Yes, he was eager to learn anything the man still had to teach them. But he was still anxious that Gajeel wouldn't believe them. Or anxious that he wouldn't train them. Or... he was just anxious. He couldn't even put it all into words. Maybe it was just the energy that had been around the hall lately, maybe he'd caught the anxiety that everyone else was exuding. They reached the doors to the guildhall and Steven raced to them, Ryos watching him curiously. Somehow his friend hadn't noticed the strange silence.

The blonde threw the doors open and dashed inside, sliding to a halt. It was a ghost town inside. There was only one man that they could see or hear, and the scents of everyone else were faint. "W-what the hell? Max, where is everyone?" The Sand Mage jumped a little in surprise, not expecting anyone to be around at the moment. "Oh, hey boys! They all went down to the docks to see off the S-Class candidates! They left today for the trials, but they should be back in about a week. Everyone else should be here for lunch in an hour or so. Can I get you boys anything while we wait?"

The two young Dragon Slayers glanced at each other and ran back out the door. Without uttering a word, Ryos threw his hand out to his friend, Steven grabbing onto him without hesitation. Between one step and the next, they melted into the ground, a shadow furiously racing through the grass. The burst out of a wall in an alley near the docks within just a few minutes, Ryos leaning against it a moment to catch his breath as his blonde friend raced out towards the water. By the time he caught up to his partner, Steven was sat at the end of a pier, his feet dangling into the water. "Ya prolly can't take us t'them, eh?"

His shoulders drooped, and Ryos kicked a rock into the water. "I don't know, honestly, and I don't want to risk being underwater if I lose control. They'll be back in a week, and we'll be right here. I'll tell him before he can even leave the boat, I promise." He stood in silence a few minutes, waiting to see if his promise was enough. Steven suddenly leapt up, tackling his friend into the water below them. When they both came up sputtering, the blonde was laughing, splashing water around. "We're gonna have a family 'gain!"

* * *

 _ **And we're out! This is the end of this particular fic, my wonderful dear readers. Thank you for sticking it out with me through the ridiculous waiting periods as I struggled through writer's block. Much loves!**_


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